What I Should Have Told You series
by drgemini86
Summary: A series of missing scenes, tags and whatnot for the latter half of season 10. Sometimes it's better late than never... SamDaniel, CamVala, JackSara, Teal'cIsh'ta
1. Quest Part II: Aftermath

**What I Should Have Told You series by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)**

_**Summary:**__ A series of missing scenes, tags and whatnot for the latter half of season 10. Sometimes it's better late than never... SamDaniel, CamVala_

_**Rating:**__ Mature _

_**Categories:**__ New Romance _

_**Genres:**__ Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Episode Related, Hurt/Comfort, PWP, Relationship Focused, Romance Focused_

_**Warnings:**__ Strong Profanity, Moderate Sexual Content, Violence_

_**Spoilers: **__Everything from seasons 1-10, especially the last half of season 10._

_**A/N: **__Wrote this parallel with the UK premiere of the latter half season 10 in early 2007 after being fed up of the lack of SamDaniel __**anything**__. When I wrote the first stories of the series, I didn't realise that the interaction would be even worse than the first half of the season, so this was a great piece of escapism at the time (as well as an exercise in ingenuity trying to fit certain events in and around episodes… lol). Had it posted under my last account but as that got hacked, I managed to recover this from FanLib and then Scientific Minds. It's just taken me a while to begin to get it back up._

**--------------------**

**Author's Notes:** _Tag for Quest Part II, Teal'c tells Cam something that surprises the heck of out of him, and they both come to a not entirely surprising conclusion. Contains a spoiler for the episode._

"She what?"

"ColonelCarter punched Baal."

"Get out - really?!"

"I would not lie to you, ColonelMitchell."

Cam stared at Teal'c with his unique intense expression, and he said,

"You're telling me that Sam, Colonel Samantha Carter, physically assaulted a System Lord?!"

"Indeed."

Cam ran his fingers through his hair and breathed, "Wow. Didn't know she had it in her."

"I too entertained that assumption."

"No kidding, huh? Shows what frustration can do to a person."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him, wordlessly asking him a question. Cam replied with a smirk,

"You must've known that she had a crush on General O'Neill for the longest time..."

"Indeed, I was aware of that."

"And she's in love with Jackson. I reckon she's always loved him but didn't do anything about it."

Teal'c replied with a neutral expression, "I believe now is the time for me to tell you to vacate the premises, before questioning the veracity of that statement."

Cam ducked his head briefly before replying with another one of those patented intense glares, "T, it'd be easier if you just said 'get out - really?!' Anyway, yeah, she's in lurve..."

"I have suspected this for some time now, but was unable to prove it. Has ColonelCarter hinted as to her predicament?"

Cam waved dismissively and replied, "Aw, come on T, you know what scientists are like! I've seen the way she looks at him when she thinks no-one's looking, especially when Vala's foisting herself on poor Jackson."

Teal'c replied, a hint of sadness seeping through his stoic exterior, "But DanielJackson is gone."

"He's alive - Adria needs the Intel Merlin gave him."

"Indeed."


	2. Line in the Sand: The Letter

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene for Line in the Sand, Sam tells Cam something that she's been keeping to herself. Contains spoilers for the episode, as well as previous episodes._

--------------------

"Oh God, Cam. I never told him."

Cam's attention snapped back to a gasping Sam, who had been fatally wounded earlier by an Ori soldier. Shortly after Cam had found her, they had managed to get Merlin's device working, but only the room that they were in was out of phase.

She had been slipping in and out of consciousness for some time now, and he had refused to sacrifice her for the device.

"Who didn't you tell? General O'Neill?"

She painfully shook her head and replied, as he injected her with another shot of Morphine, "Daniel. I meant to tell him before he ascended, but I was too late. After he came back..."

Her eyes closed again, and he shouted, "Sam!"

She weakly blinked a few times, and he asked,

"What happened after Jackson came back?"

She closed her eyes again, and just as he was about to shout again, she continued from where she had left off,

"I was confused about the General... and then I started seeing Pete. I wanted it to work so bad, but... I didn't pay attention to Daniel... and I got confused by the General again. Pete and I split up, and... and then the band split up."

She smiled weakly as she said the last part, and he asked, wanting to keep her awake more than anything, although he was intrigued at the confessions,

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"Who?"

"Jackson."

She opened her eyes a little and replied, "He loves Vala."

"Get out of here!"

She said, hoarsely, "It's true... since she was lost in the Ori home galaxy. That's why we haven't been as great friends as we once were. Oh God, when we all started out, we were such great friends. Did you know that when we found him on Vis Uban, he asked me if there had been anything between us?"

He shook his head and replied, "No... he never said a thing."

She chuckled sardonically as she closed her eyes again, "Figures. It'd probably upset Vala too much. I realise now that he's the one I should have paid more attention to, instead of getting all stupid about the General. But now... it's too late - he's probably dead, and as for me, I'm definitely a goner."

He said passionately, "Sam, no, don't say that."

"The letters I told you about..."

"Sam, no."

"Hear me out, Cam. One of the letters is addressed to Daniel... If he eventually comes home, I want you to give it to him."

He gazed at her, sadness and grief in his eyes, as he remarked, trying to sound hopeful,

"I will do no such thing, Sam! You are going to give him that letter yourself!"

She chuckled slightly again and replied quietly, "Yeah... sure."


	3. The Road Not Taken: The Diary

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from The Road not Taken - AU McKay asks Sam if there's anyone special in her life, and she discovers something very surprising. Contains spoilers for the episode._

--------------------

Sam and McKay were in the latter's apartment. After talking for some time about the differences between his Universe and her own, he suddenly asked her,

"Is there anyone special over in yours?"

She stared at him surprise, and he continued, averting his gaze briefly, "Well, I figured if you were never married to me, there must be someone."

She closed her eyes for a couple of moments, before she exhaled, replying, "There was... is someone, but I'm not sure if anything's going to happen."

He said, a little irritated, "It's the wonderful Doctor Jackson, isn't it?"

Confused and shocked, all she could say was, "Huh?"

He replied, scratching the back of his head distractedly,

"I figured it would be, seeing as you two had a brief relationship before we got married. It's kind of the reason why we divorced."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be... he's a nice guy... well, he will be when - if - he comes home again. I'd be insulted if I lost you to someone like... ooh, I don't know, that jock, Lorne."

She chuckled, saying, "Hey, he's alright... I'm just surprised they let a Major lead SG-1.

"Well, as my old Latin tutor used to say, 'extremis malis extrema remedia'... 'desperate times call for desperate measures'."

She frowned slightly, and asked suddenly, "If I... your Samantha loved this Universe's Daniel, then how come she married you?"

He replied, excitedly, "Ah, well, you see that's an interesting story..."

She interrupted him, saying quickly, "Cliff Notes version."

He looked disappointed at not being able to tell the story, but he nodded and replied,

"He wasn't ready. It was only two years after he finally lost Sha're of Abydos... was he married to her in yours?"

She nodded, and he continued,

"So anyway, you two went on a few dates, and you gushed at how much of a romantic he was, but he didn't really follow it up. He started getting all emotionally reclusive, and then us two were working together at the SGC to get Teal'c out of the 'gate pattern buffer..."

She made a face, and he replied with a wistful expression,

"I'm guessing that the other me was a total jerk too, huh? Anyway, we were working late one night, and you were really upset about something. We talked, and you poured your heart out. In the heat of the moment, we kissed, and well... the rest is history."

He continued, "It was great, at first, but we drifted apart after a couple of years... there were rumours that you and Daniel were... lovers after you found him on Vis Uban, and well, I did things that I'm not too proud of. After the divorce came through, you and Daniel lived together for a few months, but it didn't work out as he was still reclusive. You started seeing a friend of your brother's called... Pete, I think it was, but he never shaped up to Daniel. You gave him his ring back."

She nodded in acknowledgement, and looked at him, in surprise and sympathy. He looked at the floor and said with a wistful chuckle,

"I guess we were too good for each other, huh?"

Before she could reply, he met her gaze and asked with a smile,

"Do you want to see Daniel's apartment? I go in there to feed his fish."

----------

Sam and McKay were in a well-kept apartment, with various Archaeological paraphernalia on the walls and shelves. She spun around, gazing at everything, before saying in an awed voice,

"He moved out of this years back... last I heard he had a house a few minutes away from here."

He remarked, "Last you heard?!"

She replied, looking down at her feet briefly, "Yeah... before Adria took him, we weren't as good friends as we once were. It was different because Cam took command of SG-1, bringing Daniel, Teal'c and I together again, but Vala was there too."

"Cam? Vala?"

"Yeah, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, and Vala Mal Doran. Cam's a friend of mine who got shot down in an F-302 over Antarctica -- he recovered and General O'Neill gave him command. Vala's not from Earth - Daniel encountered her when she hijacked the Prometheus... she's a member of SG-1 now."

As she made her way to a bookshelf, picking up a journal, he remarked,

"Does your Universe not have any morality whatsoever?! How could they let a Space Pirate be a member of the planet's frontline defence team?!"

She just stared at the open journal in her hand, and he cautiously approached her, asking,

"Sam?"

She glanced up at him, chewing her lip as her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She said, as he took the journal from her,

"I can't believe it."

He read out, raising an eyebrow, "_'Today, Sam got married. She looked so happy. She married Doctor Rodney McKay, the Physicist-cum-tycoon that helped her bring Teal'c home. I love her. That should have been me at the altar. I'm too much of a coward though. I lost her, but it couldn't have been to a better man. We both saw in McKay something that others didn't. Jack said it was because we were all geeks. He hasn't been the same since Sara chucked him out and he moved back to Minnesota. I'm happy for her though. No, I really am. Or, I will be after partaking in the sore delights of some of that Whiskey Jack sent me for Christmas. I don't expect General Hammond will want me to come in tomorrow anyway, seeing as I got a little emotional at the wedding. Oh, that's an understatement. Luckily, I didn't make a scene. I made it through the ceremony. I made it through the first part of the reception. Then it all went to hell. The first dance. She was so radiant and beautiful, and the way she looked up into his eyes... I couldn't bear to stay any longer, so I bolted...'_"

McKay looked across at her, and said with open arms after he put the journal down,

"Oh, come here you."

She closed her eyes, holding the tears back as he wrapped his arms around her. He murmured into her hair,

"I really hope things work out in your Universe... if you get back."

She replied into his shoulder,

"I don't think it will, but thanks."


	4. The Shroud: Priorised

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from The Shroud, Daniel makes Jack promise him something. Contains a spoiler for the episode._

--------------------

Imprisoned aboard the Odyssey, Prior-Daniel argued with Jack regarding his identity. Jack stormed out in anger, but returned soon afterwards, and said in his unique way,

"Just supposin' that it is you in there... did you ever think how Carter would feel seeing you like this? After you died, she was pretty broken up. Heck, she just about lost it each time we thought you were a goner."

Daniel rested the back of his head on the chair rest, and closed his eyes. He replied,

"She's a friend, just like Mitchell, Teal'c, Vala, and yes, you... that is if you still consider me a friend."

Jack remarked, raising an eyebrow, "Now this isn't about me... it's about you."

Daniel opened his eyes and said quietly, "If you're all going to come up here to try and get to me again, then please, please, I beg of you, don't let Sam come here again."

Inwardly intrigued, Jack asked, cockily, "Oh? Why not?"

"Jack, I know I'm not feeling the love here right now, but you have to trust me. I need to carry out this plan, and if I see her again, I'm afraid that I'll..."

He closed his eyes again, and Jack asked, "What?"

His eyes still closed, he replied, "I'm not going to be able to focus enough to go through with it. You have to promise me that you won't let her come here... please Jack."

"I'm not saying that I don't trust you... oh wait, that's exactly what I'm saying, but if it helps to get to the bottom of this..."

Jack gesticulated briefly before continuing, "...thing you have going here, then, sure."

His eyes still closed, Daniel replied in an almost whisper, "Thank you, Jack."

"Hey, any time... next time you want anything... well, not anything, just ask me when you've not going Dark Side on us."


	5. The Shroud: The Punch

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from The Shroud, Sam vents her frustration, and not in a good way. Contains a spoiler for the episode._

--------------------

Sam, after leaving her friends in her lab, stormed into the briefing room, to find Woolsey gathering his papers after his meeting with Jack and Landry. He looked up and said with a grim expression,

"Colonel Carter. I presume that you have heard that the IOA's decision still stands?"

Trying to control her growing anger, she nearly shouted at him,

"After everything he has done for this country - this planet, how could you even suggest such a thing!? What if he's telling the truth?! We're going to lose the only chance we may ever have of defeating the Ori, plus a key member of SG-1!"

Attempting to placate her, he replied as he raised his hands,

"Colonel, please, I have been over this already with your superiors. We have no other option. This could very well be a ploy to convert Earth."

"Why can't you give him a chance? Just because you were wrong about Khalek, doesn't mean that you have to go overboard! Give him a chance!"

He replied as he picked up the last of his papers, "I'm sorry, but the matter is out of my hands. Doctor Jackson is potentially a bigger threat than even Khalek was."

He looked at her sternly as he continued, "If there is any sign that you are allowing your personal feelings to colour your decision-making, then..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence, when her fist came into contact with his jaw, and he stumbled backwards. It wasn't hard enough to bruise, but it hurt nonetheless. He clutched his jaw, stunned, looking at her in disbelief.

Just as the punch connected, Cam ran into the room and restrained her, remarking,

"We all have our issues with this guy, but the Briefing room is not the place. You're lucky Landry's not in his office!"

She took a deep breath, calming herself, before saying to Woolsey,

"While we have another option, there is no way I am going to let you lay a finger on Daniel, do you understand? Even if it means getting court-martialled!"

She let Cam escort her out of the room, leaving a still stunned Woolsey watching them leave. When they were out of earshot, Cam held her by the shoulders and remarked intensely,

"Sam! What the hell were you thinking!?"

She replied, passionately, "Oh come on Cam, that guy's been against Daniel from day one! After we lost Janet, he gave us all hell, but he was much harder on Daniel. And then after the whole thing with Khalek..."

"We need you here at the SGC, ok? I'm not losing you. I need you to focus!"

"I am focussed, Cam... in fact, I have an idea - it's crazy, but..."

He remarked, releasing her shoulders, "Well, crazy's good - I like crazy; just not the physically attacking an official type of crazy."


	6. The Shroud: Prelude, Part I

**Author's Notes:** _Tag for The Shroud, Cam tells Daniel something that Sam said to him in hospital after the dog-fight over Antarctica at the end of Season 7. Songs mentioned are Thank God I'm a Country Boy, and Country Roads - both by John Denver._

--------------------

One morning, as Daniel worked in his office, Cam strolled in, singing the opening lines of 'Country Roads'. The Archaeologist briefly glanced up at him, before asking as his focus returned to his work,

"Aren't you from North Carolina?"

Cam retorted with his patented intense expression, "The words are 'almost heaven, West Virginia'... if I was singing about home, there wouldn't be an 'almost'."

"Ah."

"So Jackson, what're you up to, smart-alecking aside?"

Daniel replied, distractedly, "Just working on translating the inscriptions from 808. Turns out it's a composite language based on Mayan and Goa'uld."

Cam sarcastically replied as he played with Daniel's desk calendar, "Interesting, I'm sure."

Daniel eventually looked up and asked with a raised eyebrow, "What do you want anyway?"

"Just wandering in... there may have been some running involved..."

"Running? Was Vala training you for a surprise Goa'uld attack again?"

"Ori this time. I'm tellin' ya, the woman's got a screw loose."

"Or several."

"Yeah, that's it. So... wanna go to O'Malley's tonight - just you, me, T-man and Sam?"

"I don't know... I've got the translation, and I'm sure Sam's got a few projects on the go."

Cam remarked, "And you know this, how? You haven't said more than two words to the poor woman since... holy, when have you talked to her?"

Daniel replied with a frown, "I talked to her just yesterday."

Cam rolled his eyes, saying, "Yeah, if a single syllable counts as talking. I saw you - you wandered through the Commissary, trailed by Vala, and all you said to her was 'Sam'."

"Really?"

"Damn straight. What's happened to you? When I was in hospital, and y'all dropped in regularly, Sam was waxing lyrical about how great you were. I was wondering whether anyone else worked at the SGC at one point. Seriously, she was like 'my God Cam, he's so great'..."

Daniel stared at him in disbelief and remarked, "Right."

"It's true... although I may have paraphrased that last bit. Most of the stuff I know about you is not from the mission reports, but from her. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was hankering for some of that Jackson Jubilation."

Daniel ducked his head briefly in embarrassment, before retorting, "Sam's a friend."

"Yeah right. If you keep saying that, you'll start to believe it. Put the poor woman out of her misery already."

Daniel stared down at his desk, deep in thought, and Cam continued,

"Go on, it'll do you two good to actually have a life. You won't come in early, or stay late."

Daniel, realising what Cam meant, blushed and remarked, "Shut up Mitchell."

He then stared at his translation again, so Cam smiled and said as he got up to leave,

"I can see I've given you something to chew on. Later."

He left the room, singing, "Thank God I'm a country boy..."


	7. The Letter, Part II

**Author's Notes:** _Straight after teasing Daniel, Cam wants to know more about what Sam told him on P9C-882, and tries to encourage her to take the next step._

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Sam rested her head on her folded arms as she sat at her desk, the events of the past few weeks running through her mind. She had barely survived a near fatal wound to her side from an Ori energy weapon as she attempted to activate Merlin's device. If she moved a certain way, she barely managed not to hiss in pain as the wound had not quite healed yet. She had also been transported to another Universe, where things were rather different. And then, Daniel returned to them, after being 'depriorised', as Jack frequently put it.

Just as her thoughts dwelled on her near-death experience, she heard a certain Southerner say,

"Sam?"

She looked up to see Cam close the door behind him, with a very concerned expression on his face. She straightened up, and winced slightly as she was reminded of her wound. He didn't seem to notice, so she said, a little tired,

"Hey."

He took a seat opposite her and asked,

"How're you doing?"

"Side still hurts but it's getting better."

He continued to stare at her, and she asked, bewildered,

"What?"

Back on that planet, you told me about those letters..."

She ducked her head briefly before replying, "I changed the password."

"It's not that. You mentioned one addressed to Jackson."

She closed her eyes before putting her head down on the desk. She groaned audibly, and before he could say anything, she replied,

"I thought I was going to die... I shouldn't have said it."

She straightened up again, her face slightly reddened. He smiled briefly before asking,

"Would you mind if I read it? I won't breathe a word to another soul, Air Force Colonel's honour."

She chuckled slightly before saying with a dismissive gesture, "No, you wouldn't want to read it... it's rather... personal. I wrote it a couple of months back just to express my feelings."

"I promise, I won't tell him anything. I'm just curious."

"It's not a head of SG-1 need-to-know thing, is it?"

"No... it's a concerned friend thing, I swear."

She closed her eyes briefly before starting up her laptop. She accessed her personal directory and the relevant file, before turning the machine towards him. He glanced at her before reading:

"Dear Daniel,  
If you are in possession of this letter, it means that I am lost, possibly forever. There is so much that I wanted to say to you, but the time was never right. The truth is, I love you and I always have. You have been a brilliant friend to me these past years, although just lately our relationship has been flagging somewhat, but I suspect that is to do with all the changes here at the SGC, and in the galaxy.

I was never too wise about choosing men: Jonas was a control freak; Narim would never have worked; Martouf belonged to Jolinar; Joe... well, who knows what could have happened? The same goes for Orlin. Pete was just so wrong for me, but I was desperate by that time. As for the General, pardon the idiom, but oh boy was I wrong about that! I am so very sorry.

The year you were gone was the worst year in my entire life. You were gone, the then Colonel refused to talk about it, and someone was trying to take your place. Teal'c was the only one who kept me on the right side of insane, although he felt that what you had gone through was an honourable thing.

If there is indeed an afterlife, I will miss the talks we had, the shared projects, the coffee breaks, and the most beautiful friendship that I have ever had the honour of experiencing. But most of all, I will miss you - you are one brilliant, amazing man - don't you ever doubt that.

I am so proud to have had the honour of being your friend, and I wish you all the best. After everything you have been through, I hope you find that one true love who will treat you right - you are certainly long overdue for a love life.

Since that first meeting in the Cartouche room, I have watched you grow and develop into someone who could give a seasoned Air Force officer a run for their money. You can shoot, fight and fly interstellar ships. Your brilliant mind, inner strength, determination and tenderness have struck me the most though - you could make a girl very happy someday (heck, you should see the way the female, and even some of the male, personnel stare at you sometimes!).

Take care Cassie for me - you are all she has now.

Always yours,  
Sam."

Cam looked across at her in surprise, and said quietly as he swung the laptop back towards her,

"You should tell him."

She looked down for a second before replying as she shut the machine down, "He loves Vala."

She put her head down on her folded arms again, and he remarked,

"I know I haven't known Jackson as long as you have, but I don't think he gets irritated with people he's in love with."

She looked up, curious, and he continued, "I reckon he won't mind as much as you think."


	8. The Prelude, Part II

**Author's Notes:** _Cam approaches Vala to ask her something important... well, two things. Features a little Michael Shanks reference._

--------------------

Cam found Vala in the Commissary, alone, attacking a bowl of ice-cream, and reading a magazine. He grabbed some blue jell-o and sat opposite her, saying,

"Hey Vala, what're you up to?"

"Oh nothing much, Colonel Mitchell. Just reading up on the man who plays Doctor Levant in Wormhole X-Treme. Did you know that he had a child with the woman who played his wife in the first season?"

He sarcastically remarked, "Get out - really?"

She asked pointedly, "Isn't he supposed to be based on Daniel?"

"Sorta, although I've never heard Jackson cuss as much as that guy."

"Perhaps he 'cusses' in different languages... he knows about twenty of your Earth languages and several other 'alien' languages."

"There's that. I never really thought about it, but I'll watch myself when he starts muttering under his breath again. Heck, he could cuss at the General and he would never know, unless he was obvious about it."

He paused and she looked across at him, raising an eyebrow, and remarked,

"What?"

He mentally made a note of where the nearest personnel were, before quietly saying,

"I need to ask you something."

She looked back at him, puzzled, but replied with a smile,

"Shoot... um, but don't take that as an invitation to discharge your firearm."

He smiled slightly before asking quietly, "Do you have feelings for Jackson?"

She nearly choked on the spoonful of ice-cream that she was just in the process of eating. She quickly swallowed it, took a sip of juice, and asked, clearing her throat,

"Excuse me?"

"By that little spluttering thing, you heard what I said unless you heard something different."

"I was under the impression that I was hearing things."

"Well?"

She remarked, a twinkle in her eye, "Why do you want to know? Are you after him yourself?"

He ducked his head briefly before staring at her intensely. She, knowing that expression all too well, replied,

"Ok, I get it, you're serious. In that case, no. I like the man - he's different from other men that I have known in the past, but there is nothing between us, nor do I harbour any feelings of a romantic nature for him. I will admit that I was interested when we first encountered each other, but I have grown to respect him. He's the first man to not want to... you know... which is rather refreshing for someone like me. He was also the one who believed that I could redeem myself after my, ahem, fast living."

She continued with a smile, "Why did you want to know?"

"I can't tell you, but you will find out soon enough."

"I've heard of that 'don't ask, don't tell' protocol that your Air Force has, so it is to my understanding that you don't have to say anything about..."

He resumed his intense expression and remarked, "I'm not gay!"

He said that a little too loudly, which made a few personnel turn their heads, their interest piqued. He stared them down, before continuing quietly,

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you something else."

She replied with a cheeky smile, "No, I'm not interested in Teal'c either."

"Vala..."

She waved dismissively and said, "Come on, Colonel, you know I'm joking. What is it?"

"I'm thinking of having a get-together for everyone after all the stuff we've been through, what with Merlin, Adria and all. There could be some singing involved... I managed to involve a few people. Anyway, seeing as you were enthralled by the Wizard of Oz, so much so that you tried to pass it off as one of your adventures to 'Gopher Marty', I wondered if you could sing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'."

She stared at him in surprise, her all-purpose quips short-circuiting. She eventually said,

"You never cease to amaze me, Colonel. You want me to sing?"

"If it's alright with you."

"Well then, in that case, sign me up!"

He remarked with a smile, "Now that's what I'm talking about! I was also thinking a bunch of us could do duets and group stuff. Some of the Nurses are going to do the Nolans..."

Seeing the bewildered expression on her face, he explained, "They're a girl group from the '70's."

She nodded in understanding, and he continued, "There's gonna be a meeting for the performers a little later on so we can get organised."

"Tell me, will Daniel be involved?"

"I don't know... I'm going to see him in a minute. He needs this as much as, or even more than, the rest of us, Sam notwithstanding. You gotta promise me something though."

"What?"

"Don't tell Jackson what I asked you earlier. Me and T are working on something and if you're your usual self, it's not gonna work out."

She pretended to look hurt, and remarked, "Oh now, that's the way to break a girl's heart."

She continued with a smile, complete with dodgy salute, "I promise I won't say anything. I'm rather intrigued at this... thing that you and Teal'c are working on."


	9. Prelude to a Musical Aprés Midi

**Author's Notes:** _Cam asks something rather odd of Daniel as he gets his plan together. Lyrics mentioned are: Country Roads (John Denver), and Thank God I'm a Country Boy (also John Denver)._

--------------------

Cam wandered into Daniel's office, clipboard in hand... or arm. He found the Archaeologist bent over yet another translation, so he cleared his throat. Daniel glanced at him briefly before continuing his work, asking,

"Hey Mitchell, what's up?"

Cam slowly approached the desk, before taking a seat and saying,

"Organising a little get-together after all the crap we've been going through. I was thinking... can you be John Denver?"

He watched Daniel's brows knit in confusion. The Archaeologist put his pen down, looked across at the Colonel and remarked with raised eyebrows,

"John Denver?!"

Cam nodded and continued with a slight smile, "Yeah, the Rocky Mountain High guy... seems appropriate seeing as we're in Colorado."

"You want me to be John Denver?!"

Cam shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Sure, why not? I'm thinking we could have a little karaoke, but with some optional dressing up. Got Siler and Walter to do a duet."

"A duet?!"

"Uh-huh. Not tellin' what they're singin' though. T took some working on, but he's in."

"Teal'c agreed to sing!?!"

"Oh yeah... before you say anything, he did mention the Jaffa hooker thing."

Daniel frowned slightly and remarked, "But why do you want me as John Denver? I can't sing a note."

"You lie Doctor Jackson... you forget I've heard you sing in the shower - you're perfect. We'll just get some of the Nurses to add some blonde highlights and..."

Daniel held up a hand and exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, hold up a second! Highlights?!"

"Lieutenant Evans assures me that it's a temporary dye... oh, do you still have your round glasses?"

Daniel stared at his friend and colleague in pure bewilderment, so Cam rolled his eyes and remarked,

"Come on Jackson, it's just a little fun. We're all in - even Sam. She doesn't intend on singing, but she's offered her stereo which she fixed up with a USB port, so we can stick iPods in it."

"How did she get out of singing?"

"Well, just a little life-threatening wound a couple of weeks back courtesy of our Ori friends."

"Ah."

"So, are you in?"

"What about Vala?"

"Just been round hers... she's all for it, but what she's doing is a secret."

Daniel asked with raised eyebrows, "So, what are you doing?"

"A little Country..."

"Thank God I'm a Country Boy?!"

"Spot on... and maybe on top of the solo stuff, us, T and Vala could get together as a group. It'd be fun."

Daniel stared down at his desk thoughtfully for a moment, before replying with a shrug,

"Sure, why not? I've embarrassed myself a lot round here already."

Cam remarked with a grin, "Now, that's what I'm talking about!"


	10. Musicality

**Author's Notes:** _Cam and T's plan gets underway - who will get more than they bargained for? Jack develops a penchant for the finer things in life. Features a couple of slashy jokes, and Daniel like you've never seen him before... the same going for Teal'c,... and Walter. Songs mentioned are: Can't Get Enough (Barry White), Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland), Thank God I'm a Country Boy (John Denver), Paper Roses (Marie Osmond), Build Me Up Buttercup (the Foundations), Annie's Song (John Denver), You're the One that I want (John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John), Country Roads (John Denver), Only You (the Platters), Some Kind of Wonderful (the Drifters), Don't Know Much (Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt), and Rocky Mountain High (John Denver)._

--------------------

Sam parked up in the parking lot of the hall that Cam had rented for the musical 'get together' that he had planned. She had arrived a little late, but thought nothing of it as she wasn't going to be singing, or so she thought. She checked her cell phone, before climbing out, wincing as the wound on her side reminded her of its presence. She retrieved the box of doughnuts and copy of Dumas from her passenger seat, before locking up and making her way to the front door.

Due to the obvious security issues of having two aliens off-base, Landry had ordered that the entrance be guarded by Marines before being locked up after everyone had arrived. The General himself was busy at the Mountain and had refused to come, despite the combined efforts of SG-1. It was a relief in one way as the other personnel could unwind a little more.

Sam flashed her ID to a Marine, before she was let in. She caught sight of Cam sprinting through the hall, with a cowboy hat and boots, and before she could laugh at that, she spotted Vala rushing about in a blue pinafore dress. She put the doughnuts down, before laughing pretty hard at the sight of Teal'c momentarily appearing with a wig of long black hair. Her side started hurting again, so she forced herself to sober up, but a group of Nurses in shiny clothes didn't help matters.

When she eventually calmed down, she wondered where Daniel was, as she hadn't seen him. She wandered around the hall, accepting a glass of orange juice in the process, saying 'hi' to people she knew.

As she exchanged small talk with Doctor Lee, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Cam, cowboy hat in hand. He said with a grin,

"Glad you could make it, Sam."

She remarked with a smile, "Wouldn't have missed this for the world! What's with the Stetson and boots?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"Is Daniel around?"

"Oh yeah, but he doesn't want anyone to see him before the performance... he got a bit stroppy in make-up."

She asked with a chuckle, "Make up?"

"You'll see."

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what Teal'c and Vala are doing."

"Well... no. Ok, Vala's obvious - she's Dorothy."

"Oh right."

"Sit yourself down, you don't wanna make that injury worse. I better be off, we're due to start in a couple of minutes."

As she pulled up a couple of chairs, one to hold up her feet, she replied with a smile, "Sure. Good luck."

-----------------------

She was soon joined by Jack, who asked, "How's the injury?"

She looked up in surprise from her book, exclaiming, "Sir! I didn't know you were coming."

Before she could offer him her chair, he pulled up another one, sat down and replied, "Yeah, Daniel was moaning about having to sing, so I said I'd pay good money to hear him... sing."

When he saw her raise an eyebrow, he continued, "What? He's a good singer. Of course you wouldn't know, 'cos us guys were treated to it in the locker-room when he was in the shower. So... how's the injury?"

She replied with a smile, "It's getting better, thanks. It just has a habit of reminding me that it's there occasionally."

"Yeah, I hear ya... after that staff weapon blast... I felt it for months."

She ducked her head briefly, remembering Janet, before asking, "So, how's Washington?"

"Not bad... a lot of paperwork, a bunch of people with no sense of humour, but the perks..."

She shot him a bemused look, but before he could remark further, Cam was on stage, microphone in hand, cowboy hat under his arm,

"Hey everyone, thanks for coming to this little musical. We've got a string of great acts this afternoon, with a few surprises... including a guy in a dress..."

This earned a few laughs from the audience, and he continued,

"I'm serious, but you know with this 'don't ask, don't tell' thing... Lieutenant Holloway, you know what I'm talking about."

More laughs, and a blushing Airman.

"Anyway, moving swiftly on, we've got all of SG-1 involved, although Colonel Carter won't be singing due to her injury, but she has contributed greatly by lending us her awesome stereo, complete with USB port. Thanks Sam. Come on, let's have a round of applause for one kick-ass Colonel."

He looked at her with a cheeky smile as everyone clapped, and Jack remarked quietly,

"He's technically your CO."

She whispered back in exclamation, "Sir!"

Cam continued, "Well, enough from me, let's get this show on the road! First up, this guy can kill you ten times before you hit the ground, and that's if you borrow a candle! Nah, seriously, this guy rocks. Put your hands together for... Teal'c!"

As everyone clapped, Teal'c walked on as Cam walked off. Sam and Jack couldn't help but laugh to see him wearing a suit and a black wig. Just as she was about to say 'Barry White', the music started up and Teal'c launched into a Barry White number, with various female personnel screaming in the audience,

"_I've heard people say that  
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby  
Oh no  
But I don't know about that  
There's many times that we've loved  
We've shared love and made love  
It doesn't seem to me like it's enough  
There's just not enough of it  
There's just not enough  
Oh oh, babe_

_My darling, I can't get enough of your love babe  
Girl, I don't know, I don't know why  
Can't get enough of your love babe  
Oh, some things I can't get used to  
No matter how I try  
Just like the more you give, the more I want  
And baby, that's no lie  
Oh no, babe_..."

Jack remarked, shaking his head in amazement,

"That guy never ceases to amaze me. I've got to get a CD of him to take back with me."

The Jaffa received a standing ovation, and he bowed several times before walking off. Cam walked on, patting him on the back, before saying,

"Didn't I tell you that he rocked! Let's hear it again for Teal'c!"

More applause.

"Next up, a woman who we have grown to love since she became a part of our big family. Let's hear it for Vala!"

Vala walked to the microphone, smiling at various laughing albeit clapping personnel. Cam kissed her on the cheek, amidst some leering from SG-3, before he walked off. The music began, and she sang, stunning her critics into silence,

"_Somewhere over the rainbow  
Way up high  
There's a land that I heard of  
Once in a lullaby_

_Somewhere over the rainbow  
Skies are blue  
And the dreams that you dare to dream  
Really do come true_

_Some day I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
Where troubles melt like lemon-drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me_

_Somewhere over the rainbow  
Bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?_

_Some day I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
Where troubles melt like lemon-drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me_

_Somewhere over the rainbow  
Bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?_

_If happy little bluebirds fly  
Beyond the rainbow  
Why, oh why can't I?_"

Jack remarked, "Gotta get that on CD too! She's brilliant."

Sam had noticed the kiss and the little look that had passed between the two, and she wondered if she had a chance with Daniel. She mentally shook herself, before allowing herself to enjoy the song. Vala too received a standing ovation, but this time, bouquets were thrown on stage. She curtsied, gathering up the flowers, before saying,

"Thank you!"

Cam greeted her with another kiss as he walked on stage, although it wasn't jeered at as much as the one before. She skipped off the stage, flowers in hand, as he addressed the audience,

"That was great, wasn't it folks? Next up, two men who will have you in stitches, so... sorry Sam! Give it up for Sergeants Siler and Harriman!"

Everyone was howling with laughter more than clapping when Siler and Harriman came on stage, the latter wearing a dress resembling a certain shiny pink one once worn by one of the Supremes. Jack shouted out, resulting in more laughs,

"No fraternising on stage!"

The music started up, and everyone forced themselves to be silent as Siler began to sing, "Build Me Up Buttercup" to Walter, who had refused to wear make-up, and was now glad that he didn't.

After that, and after the Nurses doing the Nolans, Cam came on stage and sang, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," with a fiddle,

"_Well life on the farm is kinda laid back  
Ain't much an old country boy like me can't hack  
It's early to rise, early in the sack  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well a simple country life never did me no harm  
A raisin' me a family and workin' on a farm  
My days are all filled with an easy country charm  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well I got me a wife I got me a fiddle  
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle  
Life ain't nothin but a funny funny riddle  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

When the work's all done and the suns settlin' low  
I pull out my fiddle and I'm rosin' up the bow  
The kids are asleep so I keep it kinda low  
Thank God I'm a country boy..."

_"I'd play Sally Goodin' all day if I could  
But the Lord and my wife wouldn't take it very good  
So I fiddle when I can, work when I should  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well I got me a fine wife I got me a fiddle  
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle  
Life ain't nothin but a funny funny riddle  
Thank God I'm a country boy_…"

Vala came on, hugging him from behind, and singing "Thank God you're a Country boy", instead of the real line.

"_Well I wouldn't trade my life for diamonds and jewels  
I never was one of them money hungry fools  
I'd rather have my fiddle and my farmin' tools  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Yeah, city folk drivin' in a black limousine  
A lotta sad people thinkin' that's mighty keen  
Son, let me tell ya now exactly what I mean  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well I got me a fine wife I got me a fiddle  
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle  
Life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well, my fiddle was my daddy's 'til the day he died  
And he took me by the hand and held me close to his side  
Said, 'live a good life and play my fiddle with pride  
And thank God you're a country boy'_

_My daddy taught me young how to hunt and how to whittle  
Taught me how to work and play a tune on the fiddle  
Taught me how to love and how to give just a little  
Thank God I'm a country boy_

_Well I got me a fine wife I got me a fiddle  
When the sun's comin' up I got cakes on the griddle  
Life ain't nothin' but a funny funny riddle  
Thank God I'm a country boy  
Thank God I'm a country boy_..."

This received a huge round of applause, amongst jeers and cat calls from various Airmen. Vala skipped off stage, and Cam announced the next act,

"Thank you. Right, this next guy... you're never going to see him the same way again! Give it up for... Doctor Daniel Jackson!"

Everyone whooped, cheered and clapped on seeing Daniel, complete with a white cowboy outfit, round glasses and guitar, walk on stage. The most striking aspect was the hair - it looked a little longer than usual and was mostly dark blonde, thanks to the Nurses', particularly Lieutenant Evans', hairstyling expertise. Cam brought a stool, patted him on the back, before Daniel tentatively sat down.

Jack fought with himself not to call out anything as he really did like to hear Daniel sing.

Sam, on the other hand, like most of the female contingent, was awe-struck. She couldn't help but stare, almost gawp at her colleague, and Jack noticed, but smiled knowingly instead of saying anything. Several females screamed, making the Archaeologist blush.

The noise died down as Daniel strummed the first chords, before singing, closing his eyes occasionally when the embarrassment got too much,

"_You fill up my senses,  
Like a night in the forest,  
Like the mountains in Springtime,  
Like a walk in the rain,  
Like a storm in the desert,  
Like a sleepy blue ocean,  
You fill up my senses,  
Come fill me again..._

Come let me love you,  
Let me give my life to you,  
Let me drown in your laughter,  
Let me die in your arms,  
Let me lay down beside you,  
Let me always be with you,  
Come let me love you,  
Come love me again..."

Most of the room joined in with the 'hm' verse, including Sam, who knew that Cam knew of her penchant for John Denver... she was secretly plotting the worst possible torture methods she could use on him. During the verse, her eyes met Daniel's, silently encouraging him as everyone pulled out lighters. He smiled at her, and almost sang the entire final verse to her,

"_You fill up my senses,  
Like a night in the forest,  
Like the mountains in Springtime,  
Like a walk in the rain...  
Like a storm in the desert,  
Like a sleepy blue ocean,  
You fill up my senses,  
Come fill me again_..."

The entire hall erupted in loud cheers and applause as everyone stood up to show the Archaeologist their appreciation. Even Sam stood up, despite remaining seated throughout the previous performances. Cam came on stage, and Sam caught his gaze. He winked at her knowingly and she pretended to look annoyed, although she was delighted.

"Now we're gonna have a short intermission before our next performance 'cos a few people have to change costumes. So... everyone, keep your hands and feet inside the building at all times -- Landry's ordered the Marines to shoot any escapees on sight. Restrooms can be found to the side there, but you might wanna be wary of any pale faced, milky-eyed guys selling you anything."

There were groans all round, before everyone began to mingle. Jack said, barely restraining a grin,

"Daniel sure was great, huh?"

All she could do was nod as she watched the man she loved walk off stage. She missed Cam give Jack a thumbs-up, and Teal'c and Vala smiling conspiringly.

-----------------------

During the intermission, as Sam wandered off to talk to Captain Hailey, Daniel, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, made a brief appearance. Most of the dye was gone, although a small amount remained, giving the impression that his hair had been slightly sun bleached. All in all, he looked pretty hot; as if that was out of the ordinary for him.

"Sam."

She spun around, and her breath caught in her throat on seeing him. She smiled as she noticed the glasses, saying,

"You've still got your John Denver glasses on."

"I have?"

He took them off, looking at the frame, before putting them back on, remarking,

"I like these ones better. Anyway, I just wanted to say 'thank you'."

"For what?"

"For supporting me back there. I didn't really want to sing, but it felt really good, eventually."

She touched his arm briefly as she said, "Any time, Daniel. You were pretty great. I love that song."

He blushed slightly, before saying quietly, "I'm sorry for being off with you lately... how's the injury?"

"It's ok... still hurts when I laugh or stretch. How's the post-depriorisation going?"

He remarked with a slight smile, "It just feels great to be home again. I missed the laughs more than anything - Adria seriously hasn't got a sense of humour."

She patted him on the arm, saying, "Glad you're back, but I think you better be off changing, because Cam's pouting."

He turned to see Cam on the stage, looking at him and gesturing at his wristwatch. Daniel shrugged and joked with a smile, momentarily dazzling the Astrophysicist,

"One of the setbacks of working for the military!"

She returned the smile, before he reluctantly walked away as Cam admonished him, with a string of light-hearted insults.

-----------------------

Cam, now dressed in a tuxedo, came on stage, amid a few loud cheers from SG-3. Everyone was seated again, and he addressed them,

"Thank you... I see no-one's managed to escape yet. Right, now, have we got a treat for you!"

As Teal'c, Daniel and Vala came on stage, the men also wearing tuxedos, and the latter dressed in a red cocktail dress, he continued,

"I'm gonna add a few wink winks, and hint hints, and only a select few will get it. This is the wonderful Doctor Jackson singing 'Only You', with most of SG-1 as back-up.

Everyone cheered as Daniel, now wearing his normal glasses, stepped forward. Jack shouted out,

"Daniel, I want you on CD!"

Daniel retorted, leading to more laughs, especially from Sam and Cam, "You always had the weirdest fetishes, Jack!"

The music started up, and Daniel sang,

"_Only you, can make all this world seem right  
Only you, can make the darkness bright  
Only you, and you alone, can thrill me like you do  
And fill my heart with love for only you_

_Only you, can make all this change in me  
For it's true, you are my destiny  
When you hold my hand, I understand  
the magic that you do  
You're my dreams come true  
my one and only you_

_Only you, can make all this change in me  
For it's true, you are my destiny  
When you hold my hand, I understand  
the magic that you do  
You're my dreams come true  
my one and only you_

_One and only you.._."

Throughout the song, his eyes never left Sam's, and she smiled dreamily up at him. A few personnel cottoned on as to what Cam had meant, but no-one said anything as it was a pretty good song. Some of the female personnel glanced at her enviously, slightly jealous that the object of their affections was singing to her. And no-one but Sam missed Cam nudging Teal'c with a grin, thus missing his 'back-up' cue.

With a moment's pause, the music started up again, and this time, Cam, Teal'c and Vala sang,

"_Wonderful... Wonderful... Wonderful_...,"

before Daniel began, his gaze returning to Sam's,

"_All you have to do is touch my hand  
To show me you understand  
And something happens to me  
That's some kind of wonderful  
At any time my little world seems blue  
I just have to look at you  
And everything seems to be  
Some kind of wonderful._

_I know I can't express  
This feeling of tenderness  
There's so much I wanna say  
But the right words just don't come my way_..."

As he sang the next part, his face heated up,

"_I just know when I'm in your embrace  
This world is a happy place  
And something happens to me  
There's some kind of wonderful _

_I know I can't express  
This feeling of tenderness  
There's so much I wanna say  
But the right words just don't come my way  
I just know when I'm in your embrace  
This world is a happy place  
And something happens to me  
There's some kind of wonderful_..."

He blushed a deeper shade of red as he continued,

"_Some kind of sweet lips  
Some kind of warm eyes  
Some kind of soft sigh  
There's only some kind of wonderful_

_Oh yeah wonderful_..."

He even managed the harder parts of the song, which resulted in some appreciative cheers. When he finished, the cheers and applause came faster and louder than previously. The singers bowed and curtsied, Vala blowing kisses to the audience.

Daniel's eyes were still on Sam, and she smiled up at him, mouthing, "Good job."

He smiled back at her, content, mouthing back, "Thank you," before joining his friends in walking off stage.

-----------------------

A few performances later, including one of Paul Davies and Major Gonzalez singing "You're the One that I Want," as well as Doctor Lam singing 'Paper Roses', Cam returned, this time dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with trainers. His apparel resulted in a chorus of screams from the Nurses as well as some of the other female personnel.

When the noise eventually died down, Cam said with a smile,

"Thanks! Nice to know your lungs are working so well, especially after Jackson! Still a couple of performances left, but I want to dedicate this to someone special. She's had a tough time just recently, whupping some intergalactic ass, and is the only member of the team who hasn't actively participated this afternoon, although she has already played a huge, huge part by lending us her stereo. Come on up, Sam."

She, smiling, shook her head, reluctant to go. Everyone started calling out in encouragement, and Jack whispered,

"Go on and have some fun, Carter."

She reluctantly got up and remarked loudly, "Alright Cam, but you owe me big."

Cam grinned at her as she joined him on stage. He put an arm around her waist and whispered,

"Country Roads?"

She replied in a whisper, "Sure, but I get to whale on you afterwards."

The music started up, and he sang, with her joining in during the chorus. Much to her surprise, she began to enjoy herself. Everyone agreed that Cam was a good choice for the song, especially with his soft Southern tones.

"_Almost heaven,  
West Virginia,  
Blue Ridge mountains,  
Shenandoah river,  
Life is old there,  
Older than the trees,  
Younger than the mountains,  
Growing like the breeze_..."

During the number, she caught Daniel out the corner of her eye, watching them both. She glanced at him with a smile, and he returned it. Vala whispered something to him, and he went very red.

-----------------------

A few more performances later, Cam returned to the stage, and said with a smile,

"Now, for the penultimate performance of the afternoon-slash-evening, something that we didn't rehearse in the committee meetings. Two unsuspecting people are going to do a duet. Sergeant Siler, you know what to do."

The stage lights began to move as everyone murmured in surprise. Suddenly Sam found herself bathed in soft light. At the same time, Daniel was bathed in the same light as he stood next to the stage. Oh boy. Everyone else cheered raucously, and Jack whispered,

"How I envy you."

She steeled herself and joined the blushing Archaeologist on stage, both of them plotting Cam's demise as painfully as possible. Cam looked at them with a very cheeky grin and said,

"Your song is... Don't Know Much by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt."

The two of them momentarily looked mortified, but Daniel reached for her hand and whispered,

"Let's knock 'em dead."

She took a deep breath and whispered back, "Ok."

The music started up and he began, gazing at her,

"_Look at this face I know the years are showing  
Look at this life I still don't know where it's going  
I don't much but I know I love you  
That may be all I need to know_..."

She took over, her face heating up,

"_Look at these eyes they've never seen what matters  
Look at these dreams so beaten and so battered  
I don't much but I know I love you  
That may be all I need to know_..."

She was singing with such conviction that Daniel couldn't help but gaze at her in amazement.

She felt herself once more going into dangerous territory. She had no idea whether Daniel felt the same way about her, but for the moment, she didn't care. All she could see was the Archaeologist, and if this was the only way that she could express her feelings, well, so be it.

He smiled slightly as he sang,

"_So many questions still left unanswered  
So much I've never broken through_..."

Unknown to her, Daniel loved her so much that it hurt, but he thought that she could never love him. However, the recent events had led him to believe otherwise. He silently chastised himself,

"She's just being nice... that's what Sam does."

She returned the smile before she continued,

"_And when I feel you near me sometimes I see so clearly  
That the only truth I'll never know is me and you_..."

But for the moment, like her, he didn't care. This felt so unbelievably good that he wished he had done it a long, long time ago, despite thinking that she didn't love him. He knew that he was in dangerous territory, but he really wanted to touch her, to express his love for her, to... whoa, shields up, colleague alert!

"_Look at this man so blessed with inspiration  
Look at this soul still searching for salvation_..."

They, still gazing at each other, continued,

"_I don't much but I know I love you  
That may be all I need to know_

_I don't much but I know I love you  
That may be all I need to know  
I don't much but I know I love you  
That may be all there is to know_..."

The song over, everyone cheered. To everyone's surprise, Sam bolted off stage, ignoring the intensifying pain from her side, tears streaming down her face.

-----------------------

Cam quickly remarked to the murmuring audience, "We'll be right back after this commercial break."

As Colonel Reynolds did a stand-up routine, which was the contingency plan should anything go wrong, Jack and the rest of SG-1 ran after their friend.

They found her in one of the rooms which had been converted into a changing room of sorts. She had her arms tightly around her knees as she sat in a corner. They could hear her sniffling, and Cam wordlessly entered the room, leaving his friends at the doorway.

He sat next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders, saying quietly,

"Hey, hey, what's all this?"

She leant into Cam's embrace and murmured, "I made an idiot of myself."

"Nuh-uh. You did great, Sam."

Cam looked up, quietly waving his friends away from the doorway, before she said,

"I didn't want to tell him anything, Cam."

"You didn't. You two were just enjoying yourself, like you should be. You gotta admit, Jackson's got a good voice... kinda like dripping honey..."

She tearfully smiled before asking, "He doesn't hate me, does he?"

He shook his head and said, "Nope... I was watching you two - he was looking at you as much as you were looking at him. I think you made his day. He does love you, Sam - I'm willing to bet Grandma's Macaroons on it."

She retorted with a smile as she dried her eyes, "Just don't give me any!"

She asked suddenly, looking at him, "Does he...?"

He nodded and replied, "He doesn't love Vala, and well, Vala and I..."

"Oh Cam... good luck with that, but she might have to move off SG-1, and..."

"I know... I'm not sure if Landry's gonna like me with her, but hey, it's my life. I'll do all I can to keep the band together though."

She smiled, and he said, helping her up, "Come on Sam, let's go back in there. We've still got the big ending number, and I want you there."

"Which song?"

"Rocky Mountain High."

She hugged him, before they left the room, to find just Daniel waiting in the corridor. He looked at her with concern, and asked,

"Are you alright?"

"I think so."

She clapped and said cheerfully, "So, what're we waiting for? Let's get singing!"

She wordlessly linked arms with a very surprised Archaeologist, and Cam remarked with a grin as they walked towards the stage, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

-----------------------

On stage, every one of the performers were on stage. Cam, microphone in hand, addressed the audience,

"And now, the final performance of this evening, the cast of the 'Deep Space Radar Telemetry' musical singing Colorado's unofficial state anthem - 'Rocky Mountain High'."

The music started up, and Daniel began, still holding hands with Sam,

"_He was born in the summer of his 27th year  
Comin' home to a place he'd never been before  
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again  
You might say he found a key for every door_

_When he first came to the mountains his life was far away  
On the road and hangin' by a song  
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care  
It keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long_..."

They all sang the chorus,

"_But the Colorado Rocky mountain high  
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky  
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullaby  
Rocky mountain high_..."

Teal'c sang the next part, eliciting a ripple of cheers from Jack and other personnel,

"_He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below  
He saw everything as far as you can see  
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun  
And he lost a friend but kept his memory_

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams  
Seeking grace in every step he takes  
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand  
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake..."

"_And the Colorado Rocky mountain high  
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky  
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply  
Rocky mountain high_..."

Cam sang the next verse, gazing at Vala, which made Sam and many others, smile,

"_Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear  
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend  
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more  
More people, more scars upon the land_..."

"_And the Colorado Rocky mountain high  
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky  
I know he'd be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly  
Rocky mountain high_

_It's Colorado Rocky mountain high  
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky  
Friends around the campfire and everybody's high  
Rocky mountain high.._."

The song over, the performers bowed amid very raucous cheering. Sam pulled Daniel into a hug, whispering,

"I'm glad you're back."

Daniel caressed her back, and whispered, "Me too."

Cam, Vala and Teal'c were grinning from ear to ear, the former with his arm around the raven haired ex-thief.

-----------------------

Later, as everyone made their ways home, Daniel walked Sam to her car. Their friends had given them a wide berth on purpose, so the scientists took advantage of it.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"About inside..."

"I know."

He gazed at her with a surprised expression and asked, "You do?"

"Yes, and I feel the same way. There are things I really should have told you a long, long time ago, but I was scared and confused."

She turned to look at him just as they reached her car, and she said with a shy smile,

"I love you, Daniel."

He stared at her in amazement, before managing to speak, "Oh Sam... I love you too."

She pulled him into a hug, both of them feeling as though a weight had been lifted off their chests. When they pulled apart, she asked him,

"Are you going back to the mountain?"

"Yeah... Mitchell's got some of my clothes."

"Do you want a lift? I suppose we should tell Landry about... you know..."

He, realising what she meant, replied, "Yeah, ok."

She caressed his jaw, before he took her by surprise, kissing her. However, they were both surprised when it felt as though a small electrical charge had passed between them. They pulled apart, gazing at each other in amazement, and he asked with raised eyebrows,

"What was that?"

She exhaled and murmured with a smile as she pulled him in for their second kiss,

"My thoughts exactly."


	11. The Letter, Part III

**Author's Notes:** _After seeing Landry, the letter gets another airing, this time to someone who really should know._

--------------------

The two scientists went straight to Landry's office, much to the General's surprise as he wasn't expecting them due to SG-1 being on leave. Jack, who was already in the office, realised why they had come and he patted Daniel on the back before leaving, saying to Landry,

"Hank, I'll be back in a minute - I just realised that Colonel Dixon owes me money."

Landry nodded, before saying to the two scientists, "Colonel, Doctor, please be seated."

They nervously sat down, and he asked them with a fatherly smile, "So what brings you here on your leave? I'm under strict orders from Jack not to let you do any of your projects before your leave ends."

Daniel said, hitching his glasses, "No General, for once, it's not the workaholic thing. We..."

He glanced at Sam, who nervously said, "There has been a change in our relationship, Sir."

"What kind of change, Colonel?"

She ducked her head briefly, before Daniel cut in, "We're a couple."

Landry's eyebrows shot up, before he said with a smile, "Why, that's great news!"

The scientists exchanged a glance, before Daniel asked, "You don't have a problem with it?"

"Of course there are the issues of two team-mates being romantically involved, and how that can cause practical problems in the field, but you have both worked together for nearly a decade with no problems. You're both adults, who I trust will leave your personal lives out of a life and death situation, and you are both well-trained team-members. I thought that this was a long time coming anyhow, but if it would put your mind at ease, I could recommend that you could be put on a trial period. If you encounter problems, you can work them out together, or if need be, either one of you could be moved off the team, but that is the worst case scenario."

They breathed a collective sigh of relief, before thanking him profusely. He remarked with a smile playing on his lips,

"You've won General O'Neill, Colonel Mitchell, Teal'c, Vala and myself a lot of money. Now go on, get off my base."

They thanked him again, before leaving the office.

--------------------

Daniel noticed that they were walking in the wrong direction for the exit, and he said so. Sam replied,

"You have to see something first."

Intrigued, he walked with her to her office, where she started up her laptop, and once more retrieved a particular file from her personal directory. She showed him the screen, and he sat down, glancing at her before reading.

He finished reading it, and sat there with a stunned expression on his face. She said with a sigh,

"Only Cam knows about the letter... and that's only after I told him when I thought I was dying. He read it, by the way. He was curious as to what I would write to you."

Finally, he looked up at her, and he said, his eyes showing a whole range of emotions,

"Oh Sam... I'm sorry for being such a bad friend to you these past two years. It's just that... with Jack gone, I couldn't trust myself not to do something really stupid that would result in me losing you as a friend."

She knelt down next to his chair and pulled him into a hug, whispering,

"It doesn't matter now, Daniel."

He caressed her hair, before planting a kiss on her forehead, whispering with a smile,

"Come on Colonel-Doctor, let's go have some more fun."

She chuckled, and whispered back, "Sure thing, Doctor... let's roll."


	12. Show Me Heaven

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel finally get it on. Rated NC-17. Lyrics featured are 'Show Me Heaven' (Maria McKee) -- the verses are in the wrong order, because they fitted better that way. If you don't like overtly 'rude' stuff, then feel free to skip this chapter -- they're just getting jiggy with it 's all._

--------------------

The two of them decided to go to Sam's house, Daniel saying that it would be better seeing as her side was still sore. As soon as the door closed, she pinned him up against the door, and took his breath away with a passionate kiss, almost white-hot in intensity. They groaned as a whole plethora of feelings ran through them during the embrace. His hands ran down her body, cautious of where she had been shot.

Her fingers wandered the waistband of his jeans, making him exhale sharply.

They eventually parted, and he remarked with a glazed expression,

"You'll kill me before the day's done."

She smiled up at him, caressing his jaw as he ran his fingers through her hair. He took her in his arms before capturing her lips with his own, and she reciprocated his tender caresses. His fingers wandered underneath her shirt, caressing the smooth skin, sending shivers down her spine.

Her arms were around his neck as he deepened the kiss, before he pulled back. She looked up at him in puzzlement, before being stunned on seeing the raw passion his eyes. He asked her,

"Sam, are you sure you want to do this? I can stop now if you want. We can just cuddle up with a movie or talk..."

She interrupted him with a kiss, before saying huskily, "Yes... make love to me, Doctor Jackson."

He too was stunned on seeing the lust in her eyes, and it certainly wasn't doing his self-control any favours. Satisfied that she did really want this, as much as he did, he resumed kissing her, before they stumbled upstairs, unable to keep their hands off each other.

---------------------

In the bedroom, he forced himself to slow down as he unbuttoned her shirt, not wanting to hurt her. He eased her out of her undergarments, when suddenly she stopped in her tracks. He, scared that she had changed her mind, looked at her, only to see hot tears filling her eyes.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Sam... I'll just..."

It was then that he noticed her touching her scar, and she whispered,

"It's ugly."

"Oh Sam."

He eased her down on the bed, switching on the bedside lamp to get a better look at the huge scar as he cradled her. His eyebrows raised in a mixture of consternation and surprise as his eyes followed the track of mostly healed stitches. He tenderly felt the swollen skin around the stitches, the scarred tissue, and the faded bruising.

Tears ran down her face as she whispered,

"I hate it."

He switched off the light, whispering to her as he nuzzled her throat and shoulder,

"It's a part of you, so it's beautiful."

"Oh Daniel."

She tugged at his t-shirt, so he threw it off, before struggling with his jeans, and she with hers. She chuckled, making him stop. He gazed at her and asked with a bemused expression,

"What?"

"You're a boxers guy."

She smiled on seeing his expression still bemused, so she explained,

"A group of Airwomen have a betting pool on whether you wear briefs or boxers."

"Really?!"

She nodded, and he chuckled, remarking, "Don't they have anything better to do?"

"Look who's talking!"

He chuckled again before kissing her deeply, taking her breath away. Her hands wandered to the waistband of his boxers, and he flinched when her hands caressed the skin beneath.

"Definitely going to kill me!"

"Yeah, well, you won't stay dead for long!"

The kisses trailed down her throat, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Her whole body came alive with the sensations caused by a certain Archaeologist, a certain surprisingly capable Archaeologist. And then her breath caught in her throat when his mouth reached her chest. She trembled beneath his touch as he worked his magic on her, making her wish that she could have done this years ago.

The sensations overpowering her, she decided to show him how much she loved him. She deftly flipped him on his back, her heart pumping faster on seeing the sheer animal lust in his eyes. She sealed his mouth in a very deep kiss, before her lips blazed a path down his throat and chest. He groaned on being touched this way, before her hands reached his boxers.

_There you go  
Flashing fever from your eyes  
Hey baby, come over here  
And shut them tight_

All of his inhibitions flew out of the window, a fact that she noticed oh-so well. She decided to tease him, giggling at the sharp intake of breath taken by the Archaeologist.

He could take it no more, so he eased her onto her back, forcing himself to be gentle, before asking,

"Sam?"

He was almost taken aback by how loud and clear her answer was in her eyes, but he still waited for a verbal indication. He got it. She whispered,

"Yes, Daniel."

He smiled down at her, kissing her, before settling himself in the right position, and entering her with a thrust. Her back arched against the bed, before they began to move together in a steady rhythm. Their eyes closed, they both groaned each other's names as they felt their very souls uniting, communing, merging into something amazing and awe-inspiring, something utterly indescribable in every one of Daniel's twenty-seven languages.

_I'm not denyin'  
We're flying above it all  
Hold my hand, don't let me fall  
You've such amazing grace  
I've never felt this way_

The panoply of sounds, feelings and sensations rose into a crescendo as they climbed heights unsurpassed by mortal man.

_Oh, show me heaven  
Cover me  
Leave me breathless  
Oh, show me heaven, babe  
_

Utterly exhausted yet exhilarated, they parted, their skin glistening with sweat. He caressed her jaw before kissing her. She whispered, gazing lovingly at his face,

"That was absolutely amazing."

He closed his eyes and whispered, "It sure was. I don't think I've ever felt this way before."

"Me neither."

_If you know what it's like  
To dream a dream  
Baby hold me tight  
And let this be  
_

She kissed his nose, before he settled down next to her. She kissed him deeply as he caressed her jaw, before she settled her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, both of them feeling safer than they had ever felt before.

"I love you, Doctor Jackson."

"I love you too, Colonel-Doctor Carter."

He drew a blanket over them, and their eyes sealed in sweet sleep, with contented smiles spreading across their faces now that they had found what they had been searching for all those years.

_Oh, show me heaven  
Cover me  
Leave me breathless  
Oh, show me heaven, babe..._


	13. Bounty: The Morning After

**Author's Notes:** _The morning after the night before, Sam and Daniel talk. Cam and Vala go that one step further (more SamDaniel here than CamVala). Rated PG-14 for some kissing and ambiguous stuff. Could be considered as a pre-tag to Bounty._

--------------------

Sam woke up, and found herself draped over a rather stunning, albeit slumbering, Archaeologist. She took the opportunity to study him, and smiled as she recalled how different he had looked all those years back when they first met on Abydos, and how much he had changed since. She smiled at the blonde part of his hair, recalling how much of a great singer he had proved himself to be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. She leant over his blissful form to answer it,

"Hello?"

"Mornin' Sam."

She settled on her side of the bed, and said, "Hey Cam... what's up?"

Daniel stirred slightly, and Cam replied, "Just wanted to congratulate you two. Word travelled fast around the base that you two had hooked up after someone saw you kiss in the parking lot. And... the Generals, Teal'c, Vala and I are happy as we've won some money..."

"General Landry told us about that."

"So, is he there?"

"Cam?!"

Before she could protest further, Daniel's eyes opened, and he grabbed the phone, saying into it quickly,

"The Colonel-Doctor's busy at the moment... please call back later."

He disconnected the line, and she exclaimed, amazed, "Hey!", as he dropped the phone on the floor.

He quickly kissed her, silencing her, and she playfully hit him. She then kissed him back, and he asked,

"What did Mitchell want?"

"Just congratulating us, and said that we won him some money... apparently someone saw us kissing in the parking lot."

He was leaning over her, and their gazes locked, before she pulled him down for a kiss that took his breath away.

He whispered into her ear as he nuzzled her, "How about one more 'ascension', Colonel-Doctor?"

She whispered back, fighting the urge to giggle, "One ascension for two weeks of leave, Doctor Jackson?!"

He kissed her again, surprising her with a new technique, and he remarked,

"Not bad for someone who's been out of the game for seven years!"

"Definitely... we should have done this a long, long time ago."

"Ah but then, would it have been as explosive?"

Before she could reply, he made slow and gentle love to her for the second time within a twenty-four hour period, ignoring the ringing phone in the process.

---------------------

When they eventually made it downstairs, after making love twice more, one of those times in the shower, the phone was ringing again, and she answered it,

"Hello?"

"Jackson left yet?!"

"No, he's here. What were you going to say?"

"After the teasing?"

"Yes."

"Vala and I are gonna be crossing state lines in a couple of hours -- got a high school reunion over in Kansas."

"That's nice... General Landry's given you clearance?"

"Yeah... apparently she's a martial arts instructor from England. Oh hey, how's the scar?"

"It's ok. Hurts like hell when I stretch a certain way."

"You might wanna tell Jackson to ease up on..."

"Cam!"

"You know I'm kiddin'. Anyway, I'll call you later... bye."

"Bye Cam."

She disconnected the line, before looking for the Archaeologist.

She found him in the kitchen, rustling up a storm. She stealthily crept up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He flinched in surprise, before turning around to kiss her with an ensuing passion.

When they parted, she remarked as she looked behind him, "You know, I would've made breakfast."

He retorted with a smile, doing a passable impression of Cam, "All part and parcel of the Jacksonator experience. I've seen you naked so the least I can do is make you breakfast."

She chuckled, saying, "That was funny... where's that last remark from?"

He replied, ducking his head briefly, "Vala."

Her eyes widened in horror, and she whispered, "Oh my... you two..."

He shook his head and quickly said, "No, no, nothing at all like that. It was when she hijacked the Prometheus. She was wearing Supersoldier armour. When I eventually managed to overcome her, I took the armour off her, dressed her in BDUs and locked her in one of the rooms. When she eventually came to, she was looking up at the camera and said..."

He then impersonated Vala as he continued, "'You've seen me naked, so the least you can do is make me dinner.'"

She was still looking at him funny, so he sincerely said, in his own voice, "My eyes were shut the entire time, I swear."

She put her arms around his neck and nuzzled him, as he wrapped his arms around her. He murmured,

"You're the only woman I want to see naked."

She pulled back and remarked with a grin, "Who's the man you want to see naked?!"

He touched the tip of her nose as he joked with a twinkle in his eyes, "Well, seeing as the Air Force has this whole 'don't ask, don't tell' thing, it'd be unfair on Jack."

---------------------

Over bacon and scrambled eggs, she said with a smile,

"If I'd known you were this much of cook, I'd have gone after you years back!"

She continued with a chuckle as he blushed, "Actually, it's probably a good thing that I didn't, otherwise I would've put on weight!"

He smiled before saying, "We should thank Teal'c and Mitchell... otherwise this probably wouldn't have happened."

She nodded enthusiastically and replied, "Yeah, and even if it did, it probably would have been too late. So... what do you want to do for the rest of the day?"

His eyes twinkled, and he said, "I can think of one thing... but I need to go home to pick up my mail and feed my fish. Do you want to tag along?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Doctor."

---------------------

He had insisted on washing the dishes, despite her protests, so she hugged him from behind as they talked while he washed.

"Sam, are you sure you haven't been washing your dishes with jell-o?"

She frowned slightly before looking round him, and replying with a chuckle, "No, that's definitely detergent... you can't always get it at the store, so when it's available, I buy lots of it. I quite like it, although it takes some getting used to. Pete thought it was funny and insisted on bringing his own.

"His own detergent?!"

"Yep, total control freak.

He asked, "Is that why you broke up with him?"

"To tell the truth, if I'd gone ahead and married him, I would've had to give up going off-world, part-time at least. I just can't do that. He'd want someone to kiss him when he comes home and have dinner on the table. He was intrigued by my job though, but he didn't totally understand it. I wasn't ready to settle down like that."

He asked, "Did he ever ask you to give it all up?"

"No... but sometimes he would say something in conversation, and I'd get the feeling he wasn't entirely happy with it.

She chuckled and continued, "I should've dumped him when he started stalking me.

"Stalking!?"

"Oh yeah. I couldn't tell him about my job, so he... he left me in bed after saying something along the lines of 'why can't you trust me?!'... after that I got wind that he called up a buddy in the FBI and had a background check done on me. And then he got shot by Osiris during that whole dealie because he was following me."

"You'd think that a Cop would know when to back off..."

"Yeah."

He dried his hands, before turning around, still in her embrace, and kissed her deeply. His fingers wandered under her t-shirt, as she played with his hair. They were overwhelmed with desire for each other, so much so that in no time at all, they were making love for the fourth time that morning.


	14. Back Home Again

**Author's Notes:** _Who knew that picking up mail and feeding the fish could turn out to be so much fun? Rated PG-14 -- come on, they've only just discovered each other; would you expect anything less from two people who run through the 'gate every other day?!_

--------------------

When they eventually made it to Daniel's house, it was afternoon. He held her hand as they walked to the door, both of them wordlessly savouring each other's company.

Inside, they kissed hungrily against the door, the pile of mail he had been holding, scattering across the floor. When they eventually parted, he whispered, overcome with emotion,

"I never thought I'd be doing this here..."

She traced his lower lip and replied in an awed whisper, "I know."

She looked up, their gazes meeting, and she said with a smile,

"Let's go feed your fish."

--------------------

As he gently added fish flakes to the water, she wandered near his bookshelves, reading the various titles. She looked around the room and remarked,

"You know, this is a lot smaller than your last place."

He replied, as he switched the oxygen pump on, "Didn't see the point of getting a bigger place... as it is, this is too big."

She gazed at him with pity in her eyes, as she said with a smile,

"Things are going to be different now."

He met her gaze and said with a twinkle in his eyes, "Is that an invitation or an offer, Colonel-Doctor?"

She chuckled and remarked, "It depends, Doctor Jackson..."

Before he could reply, she raced out of the room, much to his bemusement. He followed her into his bedroom, where she remarked,

"Now, unless you're getting a new bed..."

"I was thinking of selling up anyway and getting an apartment, so...

"Is that an offer, Doctor Jackson?"

He replied with a smile, "Only if you take it as one, Colonel-Doctor."

Her eyes twinkled as she wrapped her arms around his waist, gazing up at him,

"In that case, I would be honoured if you moved in with me."

He nuzzled her throat, replying, "And I would be honoured to share a home with you."

She remarked, giggling, "Sha're must have been one lucky woman!"

He whispered into her ear, seductively, "Let's just say that after a night of wild passion, she couldn't string a sentence together."

"Well then," she said with a smile as she caressed his jaw, "render me speechless."

He lovingly gazed down at her before proceeding to take her breath away. She reciprocated in kind. For the first time, since he had owned the house, the bedroom floor was strewn with clothes that weren't all his, and the room was filled with the sounds of moans, groans and laughter.


	15. Promises

**Author's Notes:** _Sam makes Daniel promise her something during an intimate nocturnal conversation. Includes some phone ignoring. Rated NC-17 (to be on the safe side) -- sorry, I couldn't help it g._

--------------------

Later that night, the two scientists laid in each other's arms in Sam's backyard, gazing up at the stars. She had just finished telling him about the alternate universe in which she had accidentally been transported to, when she paused. He stroked her shoulder and asked with a concerned expression,

"Sam?"

She was thinking about what she had found out about the alternate Daniel, and it troubled her greatly. She looked up at him and said suddenly, sincerity in her eyes, "Daniel, I want you to promise me something."

He frowned slightly before replying, "Anything... what is it?"

"I want you to promise me that if you have anything on your mind that you won't hesitate to tell me."

"Oh Sam..."

"Despite not being a complete emotional recluse like the General, you can be a pretty private person, and I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. You shouldn't feel that you have to hide anything."

He was visibly moved by her offer, and he replied, overcome with emotion, "Thank you."

He kissed her tenderly, before asking, "It's because of what happened to the other me, isn't it?"

She nodded, and he replied as he caressed her face, "I'd never shut you out, Sam. You're the only person I can talk to on an equal footing. Teal'c still doesn't fully understand Tau'ri conventions, Jack still pretends to be dumb, and well, Mitchell's just a somewhat less emotionally hurt Jack. And Vala, well, it's a given that I would have to dumb down things when talking to her too, although to give her credit, she's in sort of the same position as Teal'c."

He continued with a sigh, "It could take me some time though before I'm ready to talk about certain stuff."

She nodded in understanding, and he whispered with a smile,

"But when I am, you'll be the first to know."

She, satisfied at his answer, smiled up at him, a smile that had the power to make a man feel as though he had been punched in the solar plexus, but in a good way of course. In turn, he smiled down at her, which made her heart beat just that little faster. She traced the line of his jaw with a finger, and he kissed her.

Suddenly, the phone rang, startling them both. They decided to ignore it as their kisses and caresses grew more frenzied and passionate. Various items of clothing were removed, when she stopped. He asked,

"What's wrong?"

She replied, her eyes glazed over, leaning over the Archaeologist, "We're outside..."

He nodded in acknowledgement before they ran indoors, giggling.

Inside, he pinned her up against the backdoor as he proceeded to make love to her with his mouth, his lips blessing every inch of her skin. She trembled beneath his touch as he bathed her body in soft fire. She let out a whimper as he led her through unchartered territory, unsurpassed by immortals, never mind mortals. The ringing of the phone could be heard from outside, the phone in amongst various items of discarded clothing.

That night, they made love slowly and deeply, roughly and wildly, frenzied and passionately, in several places, and even up against various items of furniture and some of the walls. They did this before falling asleep in each other's arms, smiling in contentment, his arms wrapped around her.


	16. Bounty: Enigmatic Monthly

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from Bounty, Sam is reminded of something important. Her and Daniel clear up the remnants of the night before, and Cam phones in to tease her yet again. Rated PG-13 for some ambiguous stuff, and a shower scene._

---------------------

The next morning, Sam once more woke up in the arms of a certain gorgeous Archaeologist. She smiled as she watched him sleep, his face seeming years younger with his usual worry lines almost invisible. As she gazed at him, she wondered how life could have been so cruel to him, to have taken away everything that the man had ever loved. But she smiled when she remembered that the constant in his, and all of the original SG-1's lives had been their friendships with each other.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of her mobile phone on the bedside table. She reached over him to get it, clicked a button and gasped slightly. She, trying not to wake him, replaced her phone before quickly making her way to the bathroom.

In the shower, she was soon joined by him, drowsily nuzzling her, his arms around her waist. The water splashing down their bodies, he asked her,

"Sam, why are you up so early?"

She replied, "Bill sent me a phone message, reminding me of a conference to showcase the Chimera system that I have to prepare for. I completely forgot, although if I had looked at my calendar..."

She chuckled softly, and he whispered as he nuzzled her, "That reminds me, I've got to do some research in the Museum of Antiquities."

--------------------

Downstairs, they gasped in surprise on seeing the aftermath of what appeared to have been a whirlwind. They then blushed when they recalled what had caused it. She muttered, embarrassed,

"Uh, I'll go tidy up."

He cleared his throat and replied, "I'll help you."

They wordlessly went about tidying things. He went outside and retrieved various items of clothing and a phone. She chuckled on seeing the items, and he remarked as he went about folding the clothes,

"You know, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hold a poker face if we have Jack, Cam or Teal'c over, and they sit anywhere near... near..."

He began to laugh, and she joined in, both of them completely relaxed in each other's company. She then insisted on helping him put the clothes away, and they went back upstairs.

They came back down for breakfast, arguing about who would make it, when the phone rang. He took the opportunity to race off to the kitchen, so she shook her head in disbelief before answering,

"Hey."

"Hey?! You never answer the phone like that! What's Jackson been doing to you!?"

She blushed, clearing her throat, before retorting, "Shut up."

"Ah, that's what you say to me, but to Jackson..."

"Cam, did you ring me just to perve?"

"Not just to perve... Me and Vala are in Kansas - we're staying over at my folks."

"Ooh, look who's getting cosy. I bet she made an impression."

"An impression, yes. No, seriously, I think Mom likes her, a lot, although Dad's been looking at me oddly since I left to make a phonecall. I think Vala said something, but I'll get it out of her later."

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"Gonna hang out with ol' Grimey, maybe get some shooting practice in... and then, if we don't get trailed by a bunch of Sodan, or Vala's ex-boyfriends, the reunion. I hear Amy Vandenberg's gonna be there."

"Sounds like a lot of fun, although you might want to watch yourself if you're going to chase after the infamous Amy."

"Hey, chances are that she's taken anyway, and besides, Vala and I aren't serious yet."

"Just be careful, ok?"

"Yeah, ok. So... how are you? How's Jackson? He can still walk, right?"

"Cam!?"

--------------------

Over breakfast, this time of oatmeal mixed with honey, Sam told Daniel what Cam had said, and he blushed at the ruder parts. He asked,

"Did he say anything about Teal'c?"

She replied, "No, but wasn't he planning on spending his leave with Ry'ac and Kar'yn?"

"He wasn't exactly clear about where he was off to."

"Has he ever been? The guy is the cover model for 'Enigmatic Monthly'."

He chuckled, and she asked, remembering something,

"When are we going to move more of your stuff in? We could start later on, after the conference and museum."

He pensively replied with a shrug, "We could do that. I hadn't really thought about it."

He blushed, and she murmured with a shy smile,

"Yeah, didn't really do much thinking yesterday."


	17. Bounty: Milky Way FBI

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from Bounty, Sam and Daniel have a private moment before the rescue mission. Teal'c offers Daniel some advice. Inspired by a conversation with_ _**Jess**__, my list sibling from_ _**SamDaniel-gate.**__('list sister' sounds odd...)_

--------------------

Returning to the SGC, after each being attacked by bounty hunters, the three members of SG-1 were relieved that they were each alive, and relatively unscathed. However, they were worried about Cam and Vala, who were across State lines, in Kansas.

In Sam's lab, before the remaining members of SG-1 were due to go on a rescue mission, Daniel suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. Luckily the room was otherwise empty at that moment, but she exclaimed in surprise, nonetheless,

"Daniel?!"

He rested his head on her back as he said, smiling, "What? I'm just glad that you're alright."

She smiled, caressing his arms, and she said quietly, "I'm glad that you're alright too."

He rested his chin on her shoulder and remarked, "This is what we get for being the Milky Way's FBI?!"

She chuckled softly before turning to kiss him, just as Teal'c walked in.

He said, a small smile on his face, "DanielJackson, SG-3 and SG-5's females have finished using the locker-room."

Sam and Daniel quickly broke apart, red-faced, and Teal'c continued, smiling even more,

"But if you wish to remain here, I will perform this mission by myself."

_----------------------_

In the locker-room, Teal'c said with a smug smile, "I assume that all is well between yourself and ColonelCarter?"

Daniel blushed slightly, before replying, "Yeah... I wish we could've done this years back."

"As do I. I have anticipated your change of relationship for sometime now, but am nonetheless surprised that it has taken the two of you so long to see the truth."

Daniel smiled in embarrassment, and replied, suddenly finding his watch very interesting,

"Yeah."

"I am happy, but I am concerned about one thing."

Daniel closed his eyes, expecting the worst from his well-intentioned friend. However, he was surprised when Teal'c said,

"I am concerned that you will not be open with ColonelCarter. You have given each other your hearts, so if you are not open, you will strain your relationship. After all, she is now your Sim'ka."

Daniel chuckled in embarrassment, saying, "It's still early days..."

"The both of you have enough love to outlast the ages."

Daniel looked up at his friend, and remarked with a smile,

"You sure can be poetic when you want to be."

"Indeed."

Daniel stood and pulled him into a hug, murmuring,

"Thanks Teal'c. You've been the greatest friend these past years."

"As have you to me, DanielJackson. I will be forever grateful to you for teaching me the power of forgiveness, for saving Bra'tac and Ry'ac, and for many of the courageous things that you have done, regardless of your own welfare."

Daniel ducked his head briefly, before saying, "That's nothing compared to what you've done. You've come such a long way since we first met you, and I'm proud to call you my friend."


	18. Bounty: Lost Loves

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from Bounty, after the mission, they, Sam in particular, get some things off their chests. Lyrics featured are My Sweet Lady by John Denver. Thank you to my SamDaniel-gate list sibling_ _**Pagan Twylight**__, for recommending the song._

--------------------

The mission successful, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c returned to Colorado. After the necessary briefings, medical examinations and showers, they went to O'Malley's. After that, Teal'c returned to base, and the two younger team-mates went home.

They were weary from the day's events, so they showered and got ready for bed. However, they soon realised that despite sleep rudely sounding its horn earlier, it had now driven away without them, so they laid in each other's arms, talking.

Daniel said with a slight smile, "It was weird -- she was hitting on me."

She chuckled with a grin, remarking as she traced his jaw,

"Don't act so surprised!"

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Yeah, like I'm actually good looking!"

She frowned slightly before remarking, "You don't see it, do you?"

He frowned back at her, puzzled, asking, "See what?"

She drew abstract patterns on his chest with a finger as she replied, coyly,

"Well, first of all, you are a very attractive man. I suppose it is a blessing that you haven't noticed it, otherwise you'd have an ego the size of Kansas."

He chuckled, remarking, "I think you're hallucinating. I'm nothing special."

"Dear God, Daniel! Ok, I'm not going to argue, because I'm starting to get a feeling of deja vú."

Instantly understanding, he said with a smile, "Vis Uban."

She smiled and nodded, before saying, "When you asked me that question, I... I didn't know what to say. To be honest, I was tempted to say 'yes' to see what it would have been like. That would've been cruel, and you would've hated me when your memory came back. It took me by surprise because it had been on my mind a lot before that... I wanted to tell you before you died but I was too late."

A stray tear ran down her cheek, and he tenderly dried it with his thumb, silently urging her to continue, which she did,

"I did tell you, but I figured that you didn't have the same feelings for me. And then Colonel O'Neill let you go like that. What followed was the worst year in my entire life, in all our lives. There were times when I wanted to go and send a Naquadah war-head through the 'gate to Kelowna... and there were the times when I just wanted to die."

Touched, he breathed, "Oh Sam."

Her tears began to stream down her face as she asked him, "Why didn't you come to see me during your ascended year? You went to see the then Colonel and Teal'c, but not me. I nearly died too."

He, close to tears himself, replied, "I don't know, but if I could go back to that point, I would visit you. I've had feelings for you since we met in the Cartouche room, but I loved Sha're, and then I lost her. A part of me is always going to belong to her, just like a part of you is always going to belong to Narim, Martouf/Lantash, Orlin, probably Joe and maybe even Pete."

Her tears fell copiously as she remembered each and every one of her lost loves. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest, as he gently sang,

"Lady, are you crying?  
Do the tears belong to me?  
Did you think our time together  
was all gone?

Lady, you've been dreaming  
I'm as close as I can be  
And I swear to you  
Our time has just begun.

Close your eyes  
And rest your weary mind  
I promise I will stay  
right here beside you..."

She sniffed, and said with a smile, "I love that song..."

She continued with a wistful expression, "It's my fault -- if I hadn't been so stupidly preoccupied with my crush on..."

Her face heated up, and he said, "I thought that you and Jack were going to start a relationship when he got promoted -- that's why I didn't want to tell you how I felt."

"Even with Pete, I ignored you, and that should've been a warning sign. I value our friendship above everything else, and yet I threw it away like that."

"No Sam..."

"After we found you and Krista, I should've checked on you to see if you were alright, but instead I was playing the 'yes' game with Pete."

Intrigued, he asked, "'Yes' game?"

She chuckled slightly, before replying, "He proposed to me before but I wasn't sure, but then we were talking after bursting into the warehouse, and I kept saying 'yes'. He eventually cottoned on, and well..."

She blushed, and he caressed her shoulder as he said, "That explains that."

"I'm sorry... I should've checked on you."

"It doesn't matter, Sam. I didn't really think about it."

In truth, he had thought of the events at the end of Affinity for a long time afterwards, especially during self-pitying drinking sessions. Jack had cottoned on, and realised the extent of Daniel's feelings towards Sam, but said nothing.

She leant over him, kissing him passionately as he reciprocated the gesture, running his fingers through her hair.


	19. Bounty: Goodbyes

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from Bounty, while Cam and Amy exchange a tender goodbye, Mrs Mitchell tells Vala something._

--------------------

As Cam and Amy exchanged a fond goodbye, his parents said their farewells to Vala. His mother gave her some pie for the road.

Making sure that Cam was out of earshot, Mrs Mitchell quietly said with a smile,

"Hey, if he loses interest in 'Flake Girl USA', I want you to know that you two have my blessing."

Vala seemed surprised, and Mr Mitchell elbowed his wife, exclaiming, "Honey?!"

Mrs Mitchell rolled her eyes at her husband, before saying to Vala,

"Cam hasn't been too wise with the female of the species, but I had hope for him when we met you. I thought things had taken a change for the better. You're a very nice, charismatic person, whom I'd be proud to have as a daughter-in-law."

Mr Mitchell looked as though he wanted to die, and Vala, embarrassed, replied, "Thank you. I'm... um, honoured that you think so highly of me!"


	20. Bounty: Flare Up

**Author's Notes:** _On the car ride back to Colorado, Vala blows up at Cam. Is this the end?_

--------------------

On the drive home, Cam suddenly asked,

"Why didn't you stick to the cover story?! You shouldn't have told Jackie all that stuff!"

She snapped, "Why didn't you stick to me being your date?!"

"Why did you even come?!"

"Because... because I was bored!"

"Well, there you go."

"That still doesn't excuse you for your actions. There was I thinking that maybe, just maybe I would be involved with someone who didn't run off with a newer model when he had the chance! I saw you - your tongue was hanging out of your mouth as soon as you saw that fair maiden!"

He, keeping his eyes on the road, said in an intense voice,

"I'm sorry, ok? That's why I didn't want you to come -- I didn't know how I'd react on seeing her."

She had her arms folded and was looking straight out of the passenger window, her face unreadable. He sighed, trying again,

"I'm sorry Vala."

"Never mind. I should've known that this wasn't going to work."

"Vala... I..."

"No, don't. You're just like every other man that promised me the galaxy, but then turned their tail and ran when a better opportunity emerged. Let's not talk about this any more."

He sighed, feeling guilty about what he had done, and she continued,

"I'll smile and pretend to the world is as right as rain, but if you ever play with my feelings again, I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable. As far as I am concerned, _we_ are over."

She couldn't stop a stray tear rolled down the cheek that was turned towards the glass, and he fought the urge to hold her hand, his thoughts running a mile a minute.


	21. Mediation

**Author's Notes:** _Vala's not talking to Cam. She confides in Daniel, whilst at the same time, Cam confides in Sam and Teal'c. Sam enlists Daniel's diplomatic expertise. Features a little PhD style flirting and ego-stroking._

--------------------

Daniel walked into his office, and was immediately leapt onto by Vala, much to his surprise. He tried to gently push her away, but she clung around his neck regardless. He said quietly,

"Vala, let go of me."

She buried her face into the crook of his neck, and said in a quivering voice,

"It was awful, Daniel!"

He frowned at her slightly and asked, "What? What happened?"

"He chose a fair maiden over me!"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, "Are you saying that Mitchell dumped you?"

She shook her head, her face still buried, and she replied, talking fast, "I was the one who called it off. Oh it was absolutely terrible! We were at the school and he was practically drooling on seeing that woman. I tried to be cool, calm and collected about it, but I lost it in the car ride back."

He instantly thought of the name 'Amy Vandenberg'. With great difficulty, he prised her off him and asked, "How serious were you before the trip?"

She remarked with a puzzled expression, "If by close you mean whether we got into each other's pants or not, then I suppose the answer would be... no, although he did beg me on several occasions."

He shook his head in disbelief and said, "Vala..."

Her gaze fell to the floor as she replied quietly, "Ok, that's a lie."

She looked up at him and asked with a worried expression, "Am I that unattractive, Daniel, that a man wouldn't want to touch me?"

He replied, "I'm not defending Mitchell, but the man has some issues he needs to work through. That whole Amy Vandenberg thing has been simmering for years. To be honest, I don't see how he could do such a thing to you."

She clung onto him as he frowned again, and she whispered, "I just want things to be like they were before."

------------------

In the Commissary, Sam and Teal'c sat with a very depressed Cam, who had his head cushioned on his folded arms. Sam rubbed Cam's back as he narrated the events that had led to him and Vala splitting up.

Teal'c said with a grim expression, "It is a wonder that you are still alive, or unscathed at the very least."

Cam groaned audibly and said, "I was an idiot - it would've been better if she had killed me."

Sam remarked, "How could you take her as your date, and then cheat on her?!"

"As soon as I saw Amy, it was like I was sixteen again, and stupider than a rattlesnake on heat."

Sam said quietly, "You need to apologise to her... and by that, I mean grovel. If you don't clear the air, this is going to spill over into a mission, and that's going to be very bad."

Teal'c remarked, "Indeed... if you do not, all of our lives will be at risk."

Cam groaned again, saying, "I know... the band's gonna be split eight ways from Sunday if I don't sort this out! She doesn't want anything to do with me though."

Sam replied, "Well, her and Daniel are pretty close. I could get him to talk to her for you."

He peeked up at her and replied with a relieved expression,

"Thanks Sam."

------------------

Daniel stormed off to find Cam, but Sam found the Archaeologist first. She intercepted him in the corridor, and wordlessly dragged him off to her lab, where she locked the door behind them. He said, annoyed,

"Sam? I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood right now. I was just going to have a word with Mitchell."

She rolled her eyes and said, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. He's an idiot, I'll give you that, but he's sorry and Vala won't talk to him. He wants to apologise to her, and I don't think knocking his lights out is going to help matters."

Calmed down, he remarked with a smile, "You thought I was going to hit him?"

She retorted with a grin, "The way you were going, I wouldn't be surprised if you took his head off."

She continued soberly, "Could you have a word with Vala for him? You're really good at diplomacy."

He ducked his head briefly in embarrassment, before remarking, "You sure know how to make an Archaeologist feel good."

She retorted before kissing him, "Well, I've had ten years to get it right."


	22. Fixing Fences

**Author's Notes:** _Daniel does what he does best, but in the end, it's up to Cam and Vala. Will this work out better than the events of Ethon?_

--------------------

On the way to see Vala, Daniel dropped in on Cam, who was now in his office, but sat in the same position. Cam looked up briefly, and said,

"Jackson, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did."

Daniel said with a sigh, "Yeah, I heard it from Sam. I need to know something before I do anything about it though. Are you serious about Amy Vandenberg?"

"I thought about it all last night and this morning, and I don't think so. I compared the feelings that I felt for her, and the ones I felt for Vala, and I realised that they were different. The ones I felt for Amy were old ones that didn't really go beyond a physical attraction. With Vala, the feelings are so much beyond that."

Daniel nodded in understanding, before saying quietly as he ruffled Cam's hair,

"Don't worry Mitchell, she'll forgive you eventually. The fact that she hasn't killed or maimed you means something. I'll go talk to her."

Cam looked up at him and said, "Thanks man."

"Any time... just don't do it again otherwise I'll kill you myself."

_-------------------_

Daniel found Vala in his own office, sat on the desk, playing with an artefact. He quickly took it from her, placing it safely on a nearby shelf. She leapt up and clung onto him again as he said with an exasperated sigh,

"Vala, get off me."

"Daniel, you know you like it."

"Really, get off me."

She pretended to look upset but obliged nonetheless when she noticed something in his eyes. He said with a slight frown,

"Mitchell admitted that he's been an idiot, and he's sorry. He said that the feelings he has for you go beyond a physical attraction. If I didn't know better, I'd say that he loves you."

Visibly touched, she asked, "He said that?"

He nodded, and she kissed him on the cheek, thanking the reddening Archaeologist as she bounded out of the room.


	23. Bridging

**Author's Notes:** _Cam and Vala take the first step on the road to sorting out things, thanks to Daniel. Rated PG-13 for some sexual references, innuendoes, and some PhD style flirting ; )._

--------------------

Vala practically bumped into Cam as she made her way to his office, and they stood opposite each other in an awkward silence, her hands on his chest. Without a word, she dragged him into a nearby room, which just so happened to be empty.

Inside, Cam said as he gazed at her, "Vala, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

She put a finger on his lips before asking with a serious expression, "Just tell me one thing, Cameron. Do you love me?"

He replied as he caressed the side of her face, "Yes, but I need some time to sort things out in my head."

She smiled up at him as she replied, "Ok... can we still do that couple stuff though, or is that going to be on hiatus?"

"Ok, but we can't... y'know..."

She looked disappointed, so he continued,

"Things are different here on Earth. It won't be as good if either of us are not totally in love with the other."

She remarked suggestively, an eyebrow raised, "Or are you just making excuses...!?"

He rolled his eyes and retorted with an intense expression, "I don't know how Jackson copes with you!"

She snapped, "Well, at least he hasn't cheated on anyone lately!"

He almost shouted, "I told you that I'm sorry!"

She shouted back, "You're not now, but you will be!"

He closed his eyes briefly before saying in a dangerously calm voice,

"Vala, what do you want from me!? I've said that I'm sorry, that I love you..."

"Well, seeing as it's going to take you a while to get over your crush on Miss Vandenberg, whom might I add is rather boring, it's going to take me a while to forgive you."

His expression softened and he whispered, "I'm sorry..."

She put her hands on his chest as she earnestly replied, "I want to make things work, I really do, but until I can look at you without flaring up at the thought of you with her, then... I'm sorry, Cameron."

She pulled him into a hug, and he whispered into her neck, "I'll do whatever it takes Vala, I swear."

_-------------------_

On the other side of the door, eavesdropping, were Sam and Daniel. She whispered to him,

"Do you think they'll work it out?"

He replied with a small smile, "I think so -- Mitchell's got some thinking to do though."

She smiled back at him, remarking as they began to walk down the corridor,

"Another job well done, Doctor Jackson."

"A cause for celebration, Colonel-Doctor?"

She quipped, her eyes glittering, "Do we really need a cause to celebrate?!"

He remarked, feigning shock, "Why Colonel-Doctor, I do believe you're coming on to me."

She retorted with a smile, just as they stepped into her lab, "Why Doctor Jackson, of course I am."

He kissed her against the closed door, before asking as they gazed at each other,

"How about I take you out some place nice - just you and me?"

She remarked with a cheeky smile, "Have you been selling tapes of us!?"

He sarcastically retorted, "Well, it was the only way to get Jack to give me the money he owed me!"

She chuckled before saying, "It's lucky I know you as well as I do, otherwise you'll be in the Infirmary right about now."

He leant down to kiss her again, just as the door rattled, and Cam's voice could be heard,

"Yo Sam, what's up with the door?"

They exchanged a surprised glance, and she called, "Oh... yeah, I'm fixing the lock!"

They smiled at each other, before picking up from where they left off. Cam called through the door,

"Hey, I don't hear any fixing noises!"

They pulled apart again, straightening their clothes and hair, and she opened the door. Cam, with an amused expression, looked from Sam to Daniel, and remarked,

"You said 'lock', right?"

They both blushed, with Daniel shaking his head in disbelief. Sam cleared her throat, and sarcastically remarked,

"Who's up for a nice mug of bleach?! Daniel?"


	24. Date

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel finally go on a date! They take the opportunity to talk about something pretty sensitive, which leads to more. They both learn new things about each other. PG-13 for an en-passant rude reference._

--------------------

A few days later, as Sam and Daniel went about putting away more of his stuff that they had moved from his house, he asked her,

"Do you still want to go some place nice?"

She replied as she put a shirt away, "Only if you want to. I don't want to force you into anything. To be honest, I'm quite happy how we're playing things at the moment."

He remarked with a grin, "Yeah, the sex is pretty good."

She playfully threw a pullover at him before retorting with a grin matching his,

"Only 'pretty good'?!"

He chuckled, ducking his head in embarrassment, before remarking with a smile,

"Well, if you don't put a bounty on my head, I made reservations at Lá Bella Italia for seven o'clock."

She replied, impressed, "Lá Bella Italia? Wow."

She kissed him on the cheek and he replied as he wrapped her in his arms,

"Yeah, finest Italian food in Colorado Springs apparently."

She said with a grin, "Well, anything's better than the Commissary."

He remarked with a fond smile, "Ooh, I don't know, Sergeant Allington's shift is pretty spectacular."

She retorted as she playfully hit him, "Oh yes, if by spectacular you mean catastrophic! I'm surprised they kept her on after she put curry powder in the blueberry pie. I've never heard General O'Neill curse that much in a day, never mind an hour!"

-------------------

At precisely seven o'clock, Sam and Daniel entered Lá Bella Italia, hand in hand. They were ushered to their table, where Daniel ordered their meals in perfect Italian, surprising the waiter. Sam barely suppressed a proud smile, thinking how the waiter didn't know that he had Earth's twice-dead, foremost diplomatic linguist as a customer.

As they sipped their drinks, Sam remembered something. She said with an amused expression,

"So, you used to watch Scooby Doo? I still can't get over you telling Ventrell about 'us meddling kids'. I was under the impression that you didn't get to watch much television when you were younger."

He remarked with an innocent expression, "Who said anything about being younger?"

When she threw him a curious glance, he continued with a smile, "Well Jack didn't like talking about 'rocks', so I've now got a working knowledge of such gems as Scooby Doo, the Simpsons, Futurama, It's All Relative, Charmed..."

She interrupted him, remarking in disbelief, "The General watches Charmed?!"

He nodded and replied with a smile, "Think along the lines of his description of Uma Thurman."

She cringed slightly before remarking, "That man is just one big kid; one hormonally driven kid."

As their meals arrived, he replied, "Sure is. Thinking about it, there really isn't a difference between him and that little tyke."

She chuckled softly, remembering all to well when Loki experimented on Jack three years previously. She asked him,

"Is the General still in touch with him?"

"Oh you know how Jack is -- if anything isn't in black and white, he doesn't want to know. He admitted that it would be too weird."

"Too bad... whatever happened to not leaving our people behind?"

He shrugged slightly, replying, "Yeah, I said the same thing to Jack, but he started muttering into his Guinness. So... I kept in contact."

She spluttered slightly and exclaimed in a whisper, "You did what?!"

He replied, his passion evident in his eyes, "I know what it's like to be disowned, Sam. Nick didn't want anything to do with me after... after the accident, and I was left to the mercy of the foster system. I know mini-Jack's an emancipated adult and has everything, but he still needs his friends. He shares Jack's memories, and if he really was Jack, we wouldn't have let him go like that."

She put a hand over his, and replied with a sympathetic smile,

"Sorry about the reaction... I wasn't expecting it. Quite frankly, I should've expected it. You're arguably the General's best friend, the only one whom he could confide in. It's only right that you'd be there for mini-Jack."

He lowered his gaze briefly before saying, "I wonder if the real reason for Jack not wanting to keep contact is that it reminds him of what he's missing with Charlie. I mean, Charlie would have been nineteen this September, and I bet he'd be pretty similar to Jack."

She met his gaze and replied, emotion exuding from her eyes, "That still doesn't make it right. If it had been either of us in that position, I don't think we'd just lose contact like that."

Her gaze shifted to the tabletop, and he, touched, asked quietly, "Did you ever think about having children?"

She replied with a sad smile, "Quite a bit these past few years, especially when I was dating Pete. It would've been nice to have a little uber-Carter or two running around."

She met his gaze and asked, "What about you?"

He replied, sadness in his eyes, "Sha're and I did try but it didn't happen..."

She squeezed his hand and whispered, "I'm sorry to hear that."

He continued, "She wanted two girls with my eyes and her hair, and I wanted a boy... I suppose I wanted to make up for what I'd missed out on. When... when it didn't happen, she began to think that maybe she was cursed, and I, in turn, began to question... some things."

His gaze dropped as he fought to gain control of his emotions, and she, taken aback, replied,

"Oh God, Daniel... I never knew. You know, this is the sort of thing I hoped you would share with me. I bet you kept all that to yourself these past years."

"Pretty much. There really wasn't anyone to tell."

She looked at the tabletop as she said, quietly, "When it didn't look as though... y'know... would happen in the near future, I had some of my eggs frozen. Janet suggested it before... before she left us, but I didn't get round to it until late last year. Doctor Lam brought in an embryologist to do it."

She continued with a sigh as he squeezed her hand, "But I don't know... I came across some research from Yale that suggests that women who conceive when they're over forty are more likely to have stillbirths. It looks like I've lost my chance."

He squeezed her hand in silent reassurance, before asking, "Shall we call it a night?"

She met his gaze and replied with a smile, "If you want to... it's been nice getting all these things off our chests."

He nodded and replied, before signalling for the waiter, "Yeah... I never realised how nice it is to share things like this."

She nodded with a smile, and as the waiter appeared, she commented on the meal in perfect Italian, which surprised the heck out of Daniel. The waiter, surprised too, asked her what line of work her and Daniel were in. She replied that they worked for the Air Force but they travelled quite a bit.

When the waiter left the bill, bounding off in glee, she smiled conspiringly at Daniel, who stared at her in surprise. She asked with a smile,

"What?"

"You speak Italian?!"

"Yeah, my first serious boyfriend at the Academy was Italian-American... plus, I took classes."

He remarked, surprised, "You know that you've hidden this for ten years?"

She smiled into her drink, before remarking with a twinkle in her eye, "Really?!"


	25. Bad Guys: Morning

**Author's Notes:** _Pre-tag to Bad Guys, Sam and Daniel talk a little before she leaves for D.C._

--------------------

One morning, as Sam was in front of the mirror, putting on her dress blues, Daniel wrapped his arms around her. She smiled, and he asked her,

"How long will you be in Washington?"

She replied as she buttoned her shirt, "It should only be a couple of hours. The President just wants to know how things played out in that alternate Universe where the program was made public."

He remarked with a chuckle, "Motivated by purely political means, I'm sure. I'll bet he wants to know about the public reaction."

She retorted with a smile, "Something like that. Not many Presidents or any other political figures can reap the benefits of learn from alternate Universes."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist. He asked as he caressed her jaw,

"Do you think you'll be back in time for the CDSI briefing?

"Hopefully. Those MALP pictures last night were pretty interesting - I think the General could give us the go on a mission. If there's a hold up, I'll call the base."

They gazed at each other for a long moment before their lips met in a tender kiss.


	26. Bad Guys: Lightening the Mood

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene for Bad Guys, while Cam and T run after the kissing couple, Daniel and Vala exchange a few words about military strategy, and Sam. Rated PG-13 for a South Park style sexual reference._

--------------------

After Cam and Teal'c ran after the startled couple, Vala asked Daniel,

"You're not stopping me from going because of Cameron, are you?"

He shook his head and replied with a frown, "No... it's just a matter of strategy. We don't know if there are baddies out there, and it would give them the advantage if they know how many of us there are. Should Mitchell and Teal'c get captured, we can hide and be able to report back to the SGC when they dial in, or if necessary, take the baddies by surprise."

She remarked, "You're just snippy because Sam isn't here."

He wandered off, looking at the walls, his face masking his emotions. She continued, oblivious to his wandering,

"If she was here, you would probably be making sweet love down by the fake DHD."

He blushed, exclaiming, "Why does it always have to be sex with you?!"

She remarked with a playful smile, "Well, a girl's got to do something whilst traversing those great distances between stars."

She continued, soberly as he closed his eyes in frustration, "I'm sorry Daniel... I was just trying to lighten the mood."

He replied with a sigh, "Well, you failed."

She quietly approached him, and said as she put a hand on his shoulder,

"It's ok... I understand. You miss her."

He was about to reply when they heard weapons fire, and they ran in the same direction that their friends had gone.


	27. Bad Guys: Bad Guy Act

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene for Bad Guys, on guard duty, Daniel misses Sam._

--------------------

Shortly after the fight between two of the 'hostages', Daniel tried to keep his mind focused on their present situation. However, that was easier said than done. He found himself being reminded of Sam by the oddest of things, like whenever his eyes wandered to the Serpent guard uniform in a display case. He remembered their first meeting a decade previously, and how excited she had been on seeing a DHD for the first time.

He smiled wistfully before pulling himself out of his reverie. He didn't need this now. He forced all thoughts of whether he would see her again, to the back of his mind.

As if sensing this, Teal'c said quietly, "You are thinking of ColonelCarter."

Daniel nodded distractedly and went back to concentrating on his role. Teal'c stoically resumed guard duty, just as a 'hostage' remarked,

"That's what you get for leading a life of crime -- you have to leave your loved ones behind."

Daniel exclaimed, resuming his bad guy act, "Shut up! How many times do I have to tell you that you are hostages?! We've got guns and explosives and whatnot! You're supposed to sit there and behave!"

The hostage rolled her eyes, before Daniel's radio crackled into life, and he straightened up as the cowardly Security guard's voice was heard.


	28. Bad Guys: Concern

**Author's Notes:** _Tag to Bad Guys, Daniel asks after Sam. Landry asks Cam and Vala something._

--------------------

Earthside again, after they had briefed Landry on the situation on the planet, Daniel asked him,

"Sir, has there been any news from Sam?"

Teal'c, Cam and Vala all exchanged amused looks but remained silent. Landry turned around from staring at the 'gate, and replied with an almost smug smile,

"Colonel Carter returned to Colorado Springs shortly after you departed. I had to order her off-base..."

Worried, Daniel asked, "Why? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, Doctor Jackson. She was very tired and the wound on her side was slightly inflamed, so Carolyn recommended that she get some rest. But the Colonel insisted on catching up on some work to pass the time before you returned, so I had to give the order, out of concern for her welfare."

Cam patted Daniel on the shoulder and said, reassuringly, "No need to worry, Jackson."

Daniel thanked the General, who said to everyone,

"Just have your mission reports on my desk, and you can call it a night. Well done SG-1."

Daniel nearly ran out of the control room, much to his friends' amusement. After Teal'c left, Landry said to Cam and Vala, stopping them from following suit,

"I've been hearing some rumours about the two of you having an argument. Did this cause any problems on the mission? I want you to be honest with me."

Cam replied quietly, "There were absolutely no problems, Sir. We were professional at all times... for the most part, but the remaining 'least part' saved our skins."

Vala added with a smile, "Indubitably."


	29. Bad Guys: Homecoming

**Author's Notes:** _Coming home and finding Sam asleep, Daniel discovers a letter from Jack._

--------------------

Daniel eventually made it home several hours later than planned, after being waylaid, not only by his mission report, but by a member of his department requesting his assistance with regard to a Goa'uld translation. Just as he was about to go straight upstairs, he noticed that a lamp in the lounge was on.

Without a word, he walked towards the dim light and discovered Sam asleep on the sofa, her arms folded across her chest. She was frowning slightly, with iPod earphones attached to her ears, and she was holding an envelope. He tentatively removed the envelope, and was about to put it on the coffee table when he felt something. He tipped it out and raised his eyebrows in surprise to see a CD fall out onto the rug.

Feeling guilty at opening the envelope, but curiosity getting the better of him, he reached into it, and pulled out a letter. He raised his eyebrows in surprise again when he recognised the handwriting - it was Jack's:

_"Hey Carter,  
I heard that you were coming to D.C. for an audience with el Presidente, so I left this with Imelda. Just to show you that I'm not all talk and no action, it's a CD I made of the concert that Mitchell hosted. Never underestimate the sneakiness of an ex-Special Forces operative! You know how much I like Daniel's singing._

_I thought I'd send you a copy, because I figured that you two would be split up on missions for whatever reason at some point, so this is to keep you company during those lonely nights._

_I'm sorry for having left Colorado Springs so quickly without seeing you, but I was called back to D.C. Next time I'm round there, I will definitely come to see you and Daniel._

_Tell Daniel I said 'hey'... and thank you both for my winnings._

_Yours,  
General Jack O'Neill."_

He smiled slightly before gently removing an earphone and listening. His smile grew wider when he heard himself and Sam singing. He replaced the earphone, and the envelope, before gently caressing her jaw. The frown that had been there instantly smoothed out and he noticed her slowly smile.


	30. A Little Talk

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel talk a little after he wakes up._

--------------------

After showering and changing into boxers and a t-shirt, he peered into the bedroom and suddenly it hit him why she had opted to sleep downstairs. He felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness, and he wondered if she had cried at all.

With a blanket and a pillow, he went downstairs and bedded down on the floor in front of the couch. He pulled an Afghan over her sleeping form, before lightly kissing her on the forehead, and then laying down. He thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep, but soon he dozed off, the events of the day catching up with him.

She opened her eyes a half hour later, and wondered if he had come home. She removed her earphones, and was about to get up to use the phone, when she noticed the sound of steady breathing. She looked for the source and was surprised to see him on the floor. She smiled, realising that he didn't want to sleep without her, just like she didn't want to sleep without him earlier.

She gazed down at his boyish face again, before quietly getting up and then snuggling up to him. She instantly felt happier next to his familiar warmth, and she lightly kissed him on the cheek. His eyes flickered open and his cerulean orbs gazed at her.

He drowsily asked, squinting without his glasses, "Sam? I didn't wake you, did I?"

She replied with a smile as she ran her fingers through his hair, "No, not at all. Come on, let's go to bed."

He nuzzled her, before she helped him up. He then paused, realising something, and he said,

"I'm sorry... I read the letter."

She frowned slightly before realising what he meant, and she replied with a smile,

"Don't be - I was going to show it to you when you came back, but I fell asleep."

"That was nice of Jack, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... I didn't even know he had a recording device on him..."

He chuckled as they reached the bedroom. They lay down, and he wrapped his arms around her. She asked him,

"How did the mission go? The General wouldn't let me hang around."

"Oh, I heard... how's the scar?"

She replied as she showed it to him, "I don't know what Doctor Lam was smoking, but it's only a little redder than before. It's nothing."

"It's probably a precautionary measure. That way, if it gets worse, she can say that she told you to get some rest."

She remarked with a chuckle, "Damage limitation more like! So... how did the mission go?"

He barely stifled a yawn, and she said with a smile, "It's ok... there's always tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."

They kissed, before he settled down with a smile on his face. She snuggled in his arms feeling as though she was the luckiest woman in two galaxies.


	31. Decision

**Author's Notes:** _Cam thinks things through, and comes to a decision. Contains spoilers for Bounty._

--------------------

That night, Cam lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thoughts running through his head way past any known speed limit.

He did love Vala a lot, but he couldn't help thinking about Amy. He tried to be objective about his dilemma.

Vala knew everything about the Stargate programme, about the on-goings in the Milky Way and beyond... She was also clever, funny, a good fighter and one of the most remarkable women that he had ever met. She had seen things that he could only imagine, and yet she wasn't a screaming wreck. They were comrades in an ongoing war that no-one else knew anything about.

Amy, on the other hand, was scared when Ventrell had threatened him. Granted, she was a civilian, who didn't know about the Stargate, but he remembered how terrified she had been.

If he were to pursue a long term relationship with her, how would she cope when he was called away on missions, when his very life was at stake? Despite having only been working at the SGC for two years, his life had been threatened on many, many occasions. He couldn't even begin to imagine living a life with her, where he would have to keep huge secrets from her.

Suddenly, it felt as if a cloud in his mind had dissipated. He knew the answer. He suspected that he knew it before the objective comparisons between the two women, but it nonetheless amazed him. He threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and sprinted out of his apartment, shrugging on his jacket.


	32. Apology

**Author's Notes:** _Cam has to talk to Vala... will she accept his apology? Rated PG-13 for a wee rude thing._

--------------------

Cam found himself at the SGC, his fist poised to knock the door of Vala's quarters. All of a sudden, his confidence deserted him and he questioned whether he was making the right decision, whether it could wait until morning. He took a deep breath and realised that he hadn't felt as sure as anything as he did right then. He straightened up, silently chastising himself for being scared, and he knocked.

He heard Vala's call, sounding as though she had been crying,

"Go away!"

He closed his eyes briefly before saying, "Vala, it's me."

There was silence, and he was about to call again, thinking that she was ignoring him, when the door opened. She stood in front of him, her eyes red-rimmed, and her arms folded across her chest. Wordlessly he tenderly caressed her jaw and she looked up at him, willing her tears not to fall. He said as he gazed at her,

"Vala, I've been a fool. You're the only person I ever want to be with."

Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment she couldn't speak. She eventually managed to say, in a small voice,

"What about Amy Vandenberg?"

He whispered, "I love you, and you alone. I'm so sorry for hurting you."

She led him into her quarters, closing the door behind them, before resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered,

"I've been blind, stupid and a twit, and I'm sorry."

She knew that he was genuinely sorry, and she smiled. She looked up at him and replied, inwardly bounding with glee,

"Apology accepted, Cameron."

Their gazes met, and each of them felt as though the world had disappeared, with only them remaining. Without another word, he leant down and kissed her; a kiss that was their first proper kiss.

Their arms were around each other's waists as they deepened the kiss, neither of them wanting it to end. However, as they were human, the need for oxygen eventually overruled everything else.

They parted, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, and she remarked with an impressed smile,

"Of the many, many passionate embraces that I've had the pleasure of experiencing, that has got to be the best."

Their foreheads rested against each other, he replied with a smile matching hers,

"Oh boy yeah. That was... something."

She asked with an impish smile, "Would you get into trouble if you spent the night here?"

He whispered against her neck, "Hm, maybe, but I'm not on duty."

She made him stand up straight, much to his puzzlement, and she said with a concerned expression,

"Cameron, I would rather wait before we... you know. This all seems rather impulsive. I would rather go for a dinner-date, partake in some Karaoke, and then... well, you know the rest, you're from Earth."

She said that last part with a twinkle in her eye as she began to smile again, he replied sincerely,

"Whatever you want Vala. How about we go on a double date with Jackson and Sam?"

She replied with a smile as she hugged him, "That would be great."


	33. Bad Guys: Awry Mission

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel talk about Washington and the awry mission, but is she hiding something from him? Contains spoilers for Bad Guys and Off the Grid._

--------------------

The next morning, still in each other's arms, Sam told Daniel some of the things that had happened in Washington. He, in turn, told her everything that had happened during the mission that she had missed. This resulted in her laughing so much at times that her side began to hurt again. She remarked with a grin as he gazed down at her,

"You know, I'd would have paid good money just to see all of your faces when that couple started kissing!"

He retorted with a frown, "If you were there, you would have been staring with the rest of us."

"You were staring?!"

"Well, we were just going to sit down for six hours, undetected, and wait for the General to dial in so he'd send a laptop and a generator through, and then that screaming woman and Heron came down to play tonsil hockey."

She chuckled, and he continued as caressed her shoulder, "I missed you. Mitchell insisted on doing the bad guy thing... What is it with that man and being an undercover bad guy?!"

They both chuckled briefly as they remembered Cam suggesting that they pose as Kassa dealers a year previously. He asked her,

"Did Jack show up eventually?"

Suddenly her gaze dropped, and he immediately became concerned. He asked,

"Sam?"

He felt wetness on his chest, which made him even more concerned. He held her so that he could look at her face, and he asked as he tenderly dried her tears,

"Sam? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, closing her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears from flowing, and she replied in a whisper,

"I'd rather not talk about it... yet."

She rested her head on his chest again, as his mind raced with possible scenarios that could have happened between her and Jack. Some of them hurt a lot, but he tried to be patient, so he kissed her hair and whispered,

"If he's hurt you, he's going to have hell to pay."


	34. Macaroon Threat

**Author's Notes:** _Cam calls to invite Sam and Daniel to their first social occasion as a couple._

--------------------

Later that morning, Sam's phone rang while the two scientists ate breakfast. In order to lighten the dim mood that had befallen both of them, Daniel joked,

"I'm willing to bet my fish that it's Mitchell."

With only a small smile, she silently got up to answer the phone,

"Hello?"

"Hey... Sam, are you alright? You don't sound so good."

She replied, lying, "Oh, it's nothing... just one of those things."

"Ah... say no more. Maybe you should get some rest."

"What did you want?"

"Me and Vala are a couple again. I made amends last night."

Despite her depression, she smiled and enthused, "Wow, that's great news! Congratulations!"

"Thanks Sam... Anyway, I was thinking that maybe we could go on a double date with you guys tomorrow night, our treat."

"Oh Cam... I'd love to, but I don't..."

"Have you and Jackson had your first bust-up?"

"What? No, no, it's complicated..."

"It's ok, we can do it some other time. Hey, when you get back on base, you better tell me what's up."

"Or what?!"

"Or... or, I make you eat another one of Grandma Mitchell's macaroons."


	35. Sad Hypotheses

**Author's Notes:** _As Sam continues to drift away from him, Daniel tries to work out what's wrong with her, and comes up with some very sad hypotheses._

--------------------

For the next few days, Daniel felt as though Sam was drifting away from him. All attempts he made at reaching out to her had failed, and she seemed depressed.

Sometimes, he woke up in the middle of the night, to find that she was no longer in his arms, but over on the far side of the bed. He knew that whatever was troubling her must be something big as he had known her for a decade, and knew that she was a very strong woman, who wasn't scared to reveal her emotions. That was one of the things he liked about her.

One night, as he contemplated what could possibly be wrong, his thoughts strayed to Jack on numerous occasions. Perhaps she had changed her mind about him, and had tried to make a go of things with Jack?

He felt guilty at thinking of Sam like that, but it seemed to him as the only plausible explanation, especially if Jack had rejected her advances... _if_ she had made any advances. Maybe Jack had led her on, but when she took the bait, backed away. Daniel had watched those two beat around the bush regarding each other for years, and it hurt him to think that there were still some unrequited feelings floating around.

She was the first woman that he had given his heart to since Sha're, but what if her heart belonged to someone else, and she was having trouble deciding how to let him down gently?

Suddenly, he felt tears rolling down his cheeks, and he wished that Sam would confide in him. She was lying in the same bed as him, and yet he felt so alone.


	36. Talion: Curious Colonel

_Missing scene from Talion, as they walk to the Infirmary to see Teal'c, Cam asks Sam what's going on between her and Daniel._

--------------------

When Sam caught up with Cam on the way to see Teal'c in the Infirmary, he asked her,

"So... Sam, what's up with you and Jackson?"

She looked at him, feigning puzzlement, and asked, "What do you mean?"

He remarked, "I mean that you two have missed your nine o'clock, eleven o'clock, one o'clock, and quite possibly your three o'clock make out sessions..."

She blushed, before retorting as she looked at him incredulously, "You keep a log?!"

"Well someone's gotta watch over you two!"

"And that would be you?"

"Hey, why not? Were it not for me, T-man and General O'Neill, you two would be still oblivious as to your feelings for each other... Plus, you worked on Jackson for me, and he didn't tear my head off, so I owe you big time."

She shook her head in disbelief, before he asked,

"So... what is it? Bearing in mind that I have Mitchell macaroons in my office..."

She held up her hands in mock horror and remarked with a smile,

"Ok... ok, you've got me."

He glanced at her expectantly, and said, "Well?"

"Promise you won't tell another living soul, not even Vala?"

"Air Force Officer's honour -- I never told anyone about the letter."

"Ok."

She made him stop, before whispering something into his ear. When she finished, she looked down trying to reign in her emotions, and he said in a hushed voice as they started walking again,

"Aw Sam, you really should tell him..."


	37. Talion: Jaffa Revenge Thing

**Author's Notes:**

_Missing scene from Talion, Sam tries to make Teal'c see sense._

--------------------

Sam found Teal'c alone in the locker-room, silently putting his off-world gear on, his actions defined by controlled anger. She leant in the doorway and studied him for a long moment, before he, sensing her presence, said,

"If you have come to change my mind, then know this, I will not."

She quietly pleaded with him, "Teal'c, you don't have to do it this way."

"I must. For the honour and freedom of all free Jaffa. Arkad must not be allowed to live."

"Teal'c, please, listen to me. This is entirely the wrong way to go about it. By killing him, you gain absolutely nothing. Remember the last time you recklessly went after revenge? I was forced to work with McKay in order to save you from the 'gate buffers."

He replied coldly, "But Tanith is dead."

She snapped, "Is that it? The end justifies the means? With each reckless act that you commit in the name of revenge, you become more and more like the object of your hatred!"

"ColonelCarter, if I do not do this, he will deliver the free Jaffa nation to the Ori, and soon this galaxy, Earth included, will fall to the Ori. Why can you not understand?"

She raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Oh boy, I understand, but this is entirely the wrong way to go about it."

They were both startled when they heard Daniel say, "Sam's right, you know. The end cannot justify the means, otherwise you become just like Arkad. Don't do it Teal'c."

Without a word, Teal'c pushed past them, and Sam's eyes closed in resignation. Daniel put a hand on her shoulder and asked,

"Sam, are you alright?"

She turned to look at him, putting her personal issues away, and replied with a sigh,

"It's frustrating. He didn't learn anything from the last time he did his Jaffa revenge thing."

He pulled her into a hug, and replied, "That's because he's Teal'c, and believes that he needs to prove himself to the other Jaffa who think he's gone soft."


	38. Talion: Objectivity

**Author's Notes:**

_Missing scene from Talion, before setting the traps in the forest, Cam makes an objective decision._

--------------------

Before going into the forest to set a series of traps to impede Teal'c's murderous rampage of revenge, Cam dragged Sam away from the others for a few moments. He told her,

"Sam, because of this whole unease between you and Jackson of late, you're with me, ok?"

She began to protest, "Cam..."

But he interrupted her, "No, I'm not risking it. We could very well get our asses whupped by a big revengeful Jaffa, and I want you to be focussed."

"Fine."

He remarked, feigning a look of innocence, "You can go and do whatever the hell you want when we get Earthside again."

"Cam?!"

"Hey, _you're_ the one who interpreted it as a double entendre."


	39. Talion: Shock Grenade

**Author's Notes:** _Missing scene from Talion, after waking up from the Goa'uld shock grenade attack, Sam's relieved that Daniel's alright, and Vala cracks a couple of jokes._

--------------------

Sam woke up, feeling the all too familiar after-effects of a Goa'uld shock grenade, and she sat up, her eyes still hurting a little. She saw the unconscious forms of Daniel and Vala near her, and reasoned that Cam had gone after Teal'c and had escaped the blast. She stretched, feeling a tad lethargic, before crawling over to her friends. She checked their pulses, before gently nudging them.

Eventually Vala stirred, murmuring, "Materlus, it's too early."

Sam stared at her for a second in bewilderment before shaking her head slightly. Vala's eyes opened and she remarked as she rubbed her eyes,

"Wow, Dark side, Tau'ri-side, a shock grenade still feels like the aftermath of drinking four jugs of Castinian whiskey... not a good idea."

Sam ignored her as she tried to wake Daniel up. She held his head in her lap as he came to, and Vala remarked,

"In the absence of Cameron, let me be the one to say 'greetings, Sunshine'!"

Daniel looked around himself in confusion, before looking up at Sam, who said with a relieved smile,

"Hey."

"Hey Sam. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... Vala's just woken up, and I think Cam managed to escape."

He asked, "Shock grenade?"

Sam nodded, and he continued, "Doesn't get old, does it? This whole saving the galaxy from a bunch of false gods... well, as ever, onwards."

He fought the urge to rub his eyes, and eventually the itching sensation passed. He stretched and sat up, grimacing as his muscles initially protested. When he eventually managed to stand up, Sam quickly hugged him, whispering,

"I'm glad you're ok."

"I'm glad you're ok, too."

Vala, feeling more than a little left out without Cam, remarked with a cheeky expression,

"And I'm glad that you're all ok... can we go and find Cameron now? Or are you two going to reaffirm your love in the middle of this forest? Not that I would complain seeing as I'm no stranger to, shall we say, the al fresco way of doing things... my, the stories I could tell..."

Daniel rolled his eyes and said testily, "Vala..."

Sam blushed and whispered, "Has she always been this overtly suggestive?"

He whispered back, "Mitchell's having an effect on her."


	40. Talion: Awkwardness

**Author's Notes:** _Tag for Talion, Sam and Daniel talk about Teal'c. When asked about what's been troubling her, she tries to duck the issue, leading to some awkwardness. PG-13 for a wee ambiguous thing._

--------------------

Later that night, after paying a visit to Teal'c, and then revealing their romantic status to Bra'tac, Sam and Daniel went home. As they got ready for bed, they talked about everything that had happened. She remarked, shaking her head in disdain,

"He still hasn't learnt his lesson, has he? He nearly died getting his revenge, but he still believes that the end justifies the means."

He replied with a sigh, "That's Teal'c for you... ever the honour-bound warrior. I don't think that the General will expect a report from him any time soon."

"Well, he wasn't officially representing the SGC, although unofficially it'll look like we had a hand in it, which could make us targets for bigger and more dangerous bad guys."

He nodded in acknowledgement, and as they lay down, he switched off the bedside lamp. He held her, but it felt to him as though she was stiff in his arms. He gently rubbed her shoulders and said,

"Sam, you never told me what happened with Jack."

She shook her head and replied distractedly, "It can wait."

Before he could reply, she was on top of him, kissing him with a growing passion. He tried to stop her, to get her to talk, but he figured that she needed this, so he let her. However, when he actively reciprocated, she froze again. He looked at her and asked,

"What's wrong?"

She had a far-away look in her eyes as she replied, "It's nothing."

"Sam, talk to me."

"Not yet."

He sensed that she was depressed, so he began to make love to her, to show her how much he loved her. The far-away look remained, and he stopped. With a sigh, he held her and he soon dozed off.

Tears streamed down her face as she tried to articulate her pain, and soon she followed him into the realm of sleep.


	41. Misunderstanding

**Author's Notes:** _Sam wakes up alone, and finds a letter. Will Daniel realise that he's got the wrong end of the stick? Contains a spoiler for Serpent's Song. Lyrics featured are 'Don't Close Your Eyes Tonight' by John Denver (thanks to Pagan Twylight for recommending the song and suggesting an interpretation of it, and to Liliana for sending me an .mp3 of it)._

--------------------

Suddenly she woke up, and realised that she was ready to tell him what was on her mind. She found herself on the far side of the bed, and she whispered,

"Daniel?"

When she got no reply, she turned over to find that she was alone, which scared her. She crept to the bathroom, and downstairs, but couldn't find him anywhere. She started to think that perhaps the last couple of months had been one glorious dream, until she saw his car still parked outside. She looked outside, but couldn't find him at all.

She ran upstairs as the tears began to fall, and she tried to think where he could have gone. She was about to try his cell phone, when she noticed it still on the bedside table. She then thought of his house phone, but remembered that he had had the line cut shortly after moving in with her. She was about to concede defeat when she noticed a folded piece of paper on his pillow.

She frowned slightly as she reached for it, and she sat on the bed, opening it. It read:

_"Dear Sam,  
I don't know what's troubling you, but I can guess. I love you so much and I want you to be happy. I'm man enough to accept the fact that I may not be the one to make you smile any more. I want you to do something for me though. I want you to listen to the last track on your iPod. I think it says everything that I want to say to you._

_Daniel."_

The tears flowed copiously as the words sank in. She sobbed quietly for a few moments before wondering what he meant by the last track on her iPod. She retrieved the small device from her drawer, and browsed the list of tracks, until she read the name of one which made her feel as though her stomach had caved in.

--------------------

She ran downstairs, an afghan wrapped around her shoulders, and she plugged the device into the USB port of her stereo. The tears fell as she heard the opening lines to the song:

_"There's a tenderness that I feel, it's very real you see  
I can feel your body stir so deep within  
Let it be an act of love tonight completely  
And let me ask of you one thing_

_Don't close your eyes tonight  
Just look at me and see how many times I cried for you  
Don't close your eyes tonight  
Let it be me, not just a fantasy  
Let it be me tonight_

_Well you can lie so close to someone and still feel alone  
And though I heard you say you loved me so many times  
While you give me love so beautiful and tender  
Someone else is in your mind_

_Don't close your eyes tonight  
Just look at me and see how many times I cried for you  
Don't close your eyes tonight  
Let it be me, not just a fantasy  
Let it be me tonight_

_Sorry if I cry - feelings run so deep  
Many is a time when I'll wake up and find  
That I'm crying in my sleep  
Look me in the eye, tell me what you see  
I'm the one who loves you, I'm the one who needs you  
Make this one for me_

_Don't close your eyes tonight  
Just look at me and see how many times I cried for you  
Don't close your eyes tonight  
Let it be me, not just a fantasy  
Let it be me tonight..."_

As the song came to a close, she realised that Daniel had misunderstood her recent depression. This made the tears run down her cheeks faster, and she whispered,

"Oh God, I wish I told him."

She was startled by his voice from the doorway behind her,

"Sam... it's ok... I understand. I know I can't compete with Jack."

She spun around to see him fully dressed, and she exclaimed angrily, still crying,

"You think that I'm in love with General O'Neill!? How could you even think that?! I told you that I love you, and..."

She turned away from him as she began to sob violently, her body shaking, and he quietly approached her, saying,

"You've been distant since I asked whether you saw Jack in D.C. I thought that... oh God, I've misunderstood, haven't I?"

She turned around and replied, still angry, "I wanted to tell you the real reason but I couldn't find the words, but when I did, you were gone!"

"I'm so sorry, Sam. If you don't mind me asking, why have you been distant?"

He tentatively wrapped her in his arms as she closed her eyes and replied,

"When I eventually came across the General, we talked about old times, and then he made a remark about having children. You know how him and tact don't go together. It was pure Jack O'Neill. It got me thinking though about how both of us, me and you, have missed out on a lot... and, I've been thinking that I want a baby... maybe we could adopt seeing as I'm getting to be the wrong side of forty... although Cassie's too old to adopt now..."

He tenderly kissed her and said, "Oh Sam, you could've told me this. You made me promise that I would tell you whenever _I_ had something on my mind, but you held out on me."

"I know... I didn't think I would have anything to hide, and I don't. It's just that I found it hard to deal with, and thought that maybe you'd be angry."

"Why would I be angry?"

She said quietly into his shoulder, "Because I saw how you were after finding out what Apophis had done to Sha're. Plus, I know how you wanted a child."

He gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to look at him, as he said sincerely,

"Sam, I love you because you are the most beautiful, special, amazing, wonderful, courageous and smartest person that I know. Even if things don't work out for us in the babymaking department, my feelings for you won't change."

"Oh Daniel," she replied, deeply touched by his declaration. He leant down and tenderly kissed her, before remarking with a smile,

"You know, Colonel-Doctor, we've never had our first dance."


	42. First Dance

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel have their first dance, in the lounge. Lyrics featured are 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight?' by Elton John (from the soundtrack of Lion King)._

--------------------

He nuzzled her and she once more felt at peace with the world, or as much as she could possibly be, taking into account the state of affairs above their heads. She replied with a grin as he tenderly dried her eyes,

"Ok, Doctor Jackson, just so long as it's not... _that_ song."

"Of course not... Do you remember when we watched Lion King with Cassie?"

She nodded, and replied with a smile, "General O'Neill made that remark about Simba being Luke Skywalker, and his Uncle being Darth Vader. We ended up sitting through three Star Wars movies so he could explain it to her. To be honest, he could have explained it with one -- I suspect that he just needed an excuse to watch them all."

He smiled at the memory, saying, "Yeah... typical Jack. Well, anyway, I've been saving a song for this very moment."

She looked at him, slightly confused, so he took the opportunity to switch on the stereo, and she smiled when she realised which song it was. He held her as she leant her head on his chest, whispering,

"This is beautiful."

He nodded and whispered back, "With you, anything is beautiful."

She reached up to kiss him on the jaw, as they gently swayed to the music:

_"There's a calm surrender to the rush of day  
When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away  
An enchanted moment, and it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you_

_And can you feel the love tonight  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best_

_There's a time for everyone if they only learn  
That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn  
There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors  
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours_

_And can you feel the love tonight  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best..."_

As the song ended, she looked up at him and realised that he was crying. He closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears, as she tenderly dried them. She asked him,

"What's wrong?"

He replied, "I'm sorry for thinking that you were going after Jack."

She pulled him into a hug, and whispered, "And I'm sorry for not telling you what was on my mind."

He opened his eyes and leant down to kiss her in such a tender way, that it brought tears to her eyes.


	43. Family Ties: Reflections

**Author's Notes:** _Sam tells Daniel something that he really should know. Rated PG-13 due to the nature of the conversation. ; ) Kind of a pre-tag to Family Ties._

--------------------

After a long bout of passionate lovemaking, the two lovers lay in each other's arms, happy and sated. As Daniel began to doze off, gently humming against her neck, Sam remembered something. She whispered,

"Daniel?"

He stirred a little, the humming growing a little louder, making her giggle. He eventually asked, albeit drowsily,

"Sam?"

"Daniel, there's something I should have told you."

"Hmm…"

She felt him drifting off again, and she whispered, "Daniel?"

He stirred again and whispered, "Sorry… drifted off… What did you want to say?"

"There never was going to be anything with the General, or Pete, because of you."

He asked, confused, "Me?"

She nodded and replied, "As long as you were there, I couldn't take that first step with the General… heck, if we really wanted it, we would have done something about it long before now. I think I made a mistake of starting with a new man so soon after realising that I didn't actually love Jack O'Neill. The feelings for you were _always_ there - I just couldn't face them until that little near death experience…"

He didn't say anything for a long moment, and she thought that he had fallen asleep again. She sighed slightly before snuggling up next to him, when he began to tenderly trail kisses down her neck and along her shoulder. She whispered,

"Daniel…?"

He whispered back, "I'm not sure what to say… I'm speechless… in a good way, of course."

She smiled as she caressed his jaw, and he continued,

"But I'll tell you one thing, Colonel-Doctor. I'm going to spend my whole life making you happy."

Touched at his promise, she kissed him before remarking in a husky voice,

"You've already made me happier than I've ever been in my entire life, Doctor Jackson."

He played with her hair as he remarked, with an innocent expression,

"Do you think the General's going to get suspicious if we take tomorrow off?"

"Yes, and he'll look at you sideways if you come shopping with me and Cassie."

"Cassie?"

She barely managed to stifle a yawn as she replied,

"Yeah, Cassie's swinging by Colorado Springs tomorrow… didn't I tell you? She hates doing _that_ sort of shopping with her friends."

He chuckled, whispering, "Ah… say no more."

She chuckled too, knowing how much he was blushing.


	44. Family Ties: Colourful

**Author's Notes:** _Sam receives a phone call that changes her plans for the day, slightly. Pre-tag to Family Ties. Rated PG-13 because of Vala..._

--------------------

Sam groaned in protest as the ringing phone drilled into her consciousness. She mumbled something about physically harming Cam, before reaching over Daniel's stirring form to answer it.

She groggily said into the handset, "Hello?"

"Sam, hi… I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

She closed her eyes briefly in surprise before saying,

"Vala? Wow, this _is_ a refreshing change… I thought you were Cam."

"Cameron calls you in the morning?"

"Yeah… it's usually just to tease… So, what's up?"

"Um, well, would today be a bad time to take you up on your offer for immersing myself in Earth culture?"

Surprised, Sam replied, "Which part of Earth culture?"

"The part where females of a similar age venture out for various overpriced sexy lingerie purchases, coffee and beauty treatments."

Sam smiled and said, "Ah… ok… you can tag along with me and Cassie… she's coming to Colorado Springs today."

"Oh good… another non-Earth born human I can relate with! I won't be intruding, will I?"

"No, no, of course not. The more the merrier. We'll meet you on base in about four hours… is that ok?"

"Oh that's more than ok… thank you."

"Don't mention it. How's Cam?"

"He's fine… although he is a little preoccupied for some reason, but otherwise… fine. I mean, he still has all his limbs, and the remaining shreds of his sanity… Ooh, when can we go on a double date with you and Daniel?"

"I don't know… maybe later today… I'll have to ask him."

Daniel began to nuzzle her, making her giggle uncontrollably, and she remarked to him as she held the phone away briefly,

"You're lucky it isn't the General!"

He retorted with an innocent expression, "Right… you'd go lingerie shopping with _him_!"

"_Not_ a mental image I want!"

Sam said into the phone, "Sorry about that… I'll see you later."

Vala replied playfully, "Hey, I'll ask if the good General wants to come with us…"

"Vala? That would be FUBAR!"

"FUBAR? I'm not familiar with that word."

Sam chuckled, and remarked, incredulous, "You're dating an Air Force Colonel and you're not familiar with FUBAR!? Ok… to put it politely, it stands for 'fouled up beyond all repair'."

"Ah… your Earth military language is indeed rather colourful."


	45. Family Ties: Cassie

**Author's Notes:** _Cassie drops in. Pre-tag to Family Ties_

--------------------

While Sam washed the breakfast dishes, despite Daniel's many protests, the doorbell rang. He answered the door and could be heard to exclaim,

"Cassie! Hi, how are you?"

Sam immediately dried her hands and ran to the lounge, where Cassie appeared in the doorway from the hall. Grinning, Sam pulled her into a hug and remarked as she looked at her young friend,

"My God, you've changed so much!"

Cassie remarked with a cheeky expression, "Not as much as you have! I still can't believe you and Daniel _finally_ hooked up!"

Daniel remarked from behind her, "Yeah… I find that hard to believe too."

He smiled at Sam before going into the kitchen, and Cassie said with a sombre expression as she sat down with Sam,

"Mom would be so proud of you guys."

Sam smiled at her and replied, "I think Janet would be far prouder of what you've achieved. So… ready to hit the shops?"

Cassie's face lit up and she remarked, "Definitely… I'm rather intrigued at this Vala person I've heard _so_ much about. Jack was rather vague about everything when he called, which I suppose is somewhat typical of the guy."

"Oh, tell me about it."

"So… when's the wedding?"

"Cassie!?"

"Hey, I've been expecting you two to see the light since I first found out that you _weren't_ a couple."

"That long huh?"


	46. Family Ties: Male Attention

**Author's Notes:** _On the way to the control room, Sam and Vala exchange a few words about Cam and Siler's reaction to their civilian clothes. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Sam whispered with a grin, "I think he liked it."

Vala replied, "I thought _he_ was looking at you."

Sam shook her head and whispered, "Nuh-uh, Cam was just surprised at me being in girly clothes… he was _totally_ trying not to obviously check you out in front of Siler."

"What was with the ham-fisted Sergeant running away like that?"

"It was the girly clothes, I'm telling you. I haven't worn anything this girly for years… I think I've found out why I haven't…"

"Painful?"

"Yep. I hope poor Siler's ok."

Vala remarked, "Oh, he'll be fine. From what I've heard, and seen, that little man gets thrown about _a lot_. I just hope the staring wasn't because Cassie played a practical joke on us."


	47. Family Ties: Daddy Issues

**Author's Notes:** _Aboard the Odyssey, Cam tells Vala something. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Cam caressed Vala's jaw and said, "You've gotta stop being so sulky… despite all the… unpleasantness, he's still your Daddy."

She shot back, her gaze fixed on his chest, "If we weren't biologically connected, I would have killed him in the most painful way imaginable."

"Tell me about it when we get Earthside again."

"The killing or the emotional issues surrounding the void that that _man_ left in my formative years?"

"Preferably the last part… I'm planning on cooking up an omelette when we get back, so the killing probably wouldn't be a good idea."


	48. Family Ties: Comparing Dads

**Author's Notes:** _On the way to seeing Jacek in his apartment, Cam and Daniel exchange a few words about their girlfriends' fathers. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Cam remarked, "Trust me to get the one with the tricky Daddy. I bet you never had any of this with General Carter… although he wasn't exactly normal."

"If by that, you mean technically a schizophrenic, then yes."

Cam grinned, exclaiming, "Hoo boy, Sam's gonna have your guts tonight!"

Daniel retorted, "Well, he was… in the loosest sense of the word, what with Selmak. Ok, I probably could have phrased the schizophrenic remark better."

He continued, "Anywho… Jacob and I got on well, but at that time, Sam and I weren't an item… I'm not sure if he would've agreed to us though."

Cam remarked, "Oh yeah, Dads get all defensive about their little girls… even if they do like you initially. Nah man, I think he'd like you as Sam's boyfriend… you're not like other guys and he'd most likely know that."

"He looked at me funny when I was rather obviously worried about where Sam had got to, after she went missing when they were developing that Super Soldier weapon, three years back."

"As long as he didn't bite your head off… jeez, do you think we should tell this guy about me and Vala?"

Daniel remarked, "What do you mean _we_?!"

"Oh come on man, _I'm_ not telling him… he'd probably try and sell me Pepito's old kidneys!"


	49. Family Ties: A Little Company

**Author's Notes:** _Before Vala goes to see Jacek, Cam offers to accompany her. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

As Vala stepped out of her quarters, dressed in civilian clothes, she found Cam leaning on the wall outside, his arms folded across his chest. She asked him,

"What's up?"

"Mind if I tag along?"

She replied as they began to walk down the corridor, "Are you asking because you want his approval regarding us?"

"No… I don't care whether he approves or not… I love _you_, not him. I just thought you could use a little company."

"Cameron, I have to do this by myself."

"Are you sure? I could bring up the rear, or…"

She put a finger to his lips, silencing him, before kissing him. She whispered as he gazed down at her,

"I'll be fine."


	50. Family Ties: Friday Night

**Author's Notes:** _In the lift, Jacek asks about Teal'c's plans for Friday night. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

"_Ah, so what are you doing, Friday night?"_

Teal'c inwardly debated whether to even dignify that with an answer, although, he reasoned, what harm could there be in answering such a simple question? He was a Jaffa after all, a very highly trained Jaffa at that, and he liked to think that he was beyond a cheap swindler such as Jacek.

He replied with a grim expression, "As ColonelMitchell intends to cancel the customary 'movie night', I will be watching Blade II."

Jacek remarked, "Blade II, huh? Never seen it. How would you like some tickets to a show? It looks like it's about a conversation in a place called Virginia. Seeing as my daughter refuses to talk to me ever again, I was thinking you could have them."

"Will I be forced to accompany you?"

"No, no… to be honest, you Jaffa scare the willies out of me. No, you can take a lady friend… or man friend..."

"I believe it would be wise to enquire as to whether there are any preconditions to this offer."

"What…? Oh right… no, no catches… unless you _want_ to give me some money… or invest in some Star dust."


	51. Family Ties: Those Eyes

**Author's Notes:** _After Daniel and Vala go to Jacek's apartment, Cam expresses some concern. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Cam knocked on the open door of Sam's lab, and she looked up from her paperwork, saying,

"Hey."

"Hey… how come Jackson went with Vala?"

He walked into the lab, fiddling with something on her desk. She replied with a smile,

"Ah… well, it's a diplomatic mission… he's hoping to get Jacek and Vala to patch up their differences."

He remarked with straight face, "Yeah, but I caught the man sleeping in his office. What the _hell_ have you been doing to him?"

She blushed and replied, clearing her throat, "Um, it's only a little trip outside. He'll be fine… well, I don't believe that either, but…"

"He worked on you too, huh?"

She remarked with an embarrassed smile, "I can't say no to those eyes."

"I hear ya… I have the same problem."


	52. Family Ties: Phone Call

**Author's Notes:** _What was said during the phone call between Sam and Daniel. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

"_Sam, it's Daniel."_

Sam replied in a concerned voice, "Daniel? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Sam…"

"That's the biggest lie you've told to date! You want me to pick you up?"

"No… no, I'm fine… I don't know about Jacek though… he ditched his ankle locator."

She remarked, annoyed, "Oh, you're kidding!? That jerk is incorrigible! Um… hang on a sec… I'll patch you through to the control room; maybe we can track his subcutaneous transmitter."

She pressed a series of buttons before rushing to the control room, where she resumed her conversation as she sat in front of a computerised map.

"Ok… Daniel, he's about six miles west of Colorado… that should be a half hour drive from the apartment complex… Wait there, I'll drive you guys over."

"Sam, there's no need… I'm fine."

She exclaimed, much to the bemusement of nearby technicians, "No you're not - you're tired and I've seen Vala's driving, unfortunately."

"Sam, I'm fine… I'm not _that_ tired. Just direct me to Mitchell's future father-in-law."

Sam smiled slightly on hearing Vala hit him, and Daniel exclaim in protest.


	53. Family Ties: Tender Moment

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel have a tender moment after he comes back to the SGC, following the little altercation with Jacek's Jaffa friend. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Lam had finished checking Daniel and Vala for injuries, and he left, hoping to find Sam. He found her in her lab, at her desk, with her head rested on her folded arms. He smiled as he watched her, before he whispered, quietly approaching her,

"Sam?"

She raised her head and asked, "Did Doctor Lam finish checking you out?"

He nodded, before saying as she stood up to hug him,

"I missed you, Colonel-Doctor."

"I missed you too, Doctor Jackson… hmm, you really ought to go home and sleep after the briefing."

He caressed her jaw as they parted, and remarked, "You know I can't sleep without you."

She retorted with a smile, "Ah yes, but if we both went home, we wouldn't sleep anyway."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not when we have to save the world from shifty crackpots at odd moments. Oh… I nearly forgot, Cassie called. She got home alright."

He replied, "That's good… I'm still worried about her travelling by herself."

"She's fine… she's got the Frasier independent streak!"

She glanced at her watch and said with a sigh, "Briefing's in five minutes."

He remarked with a smile, "Just long enough for me to do this…"

He leant down and took her breath away with a passionate kiss, just as Vala remarked from the doorway,

"Wow, if only Cameron welcomed me home like that!"


	54. Family Ties: Fending Off

**Author's Notes:** _On the way to Landry's office, Sam fends off Jacek's advances. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Jacek put his arm around her waist and said, "You know, if you'd just give me a chance, you might like me… a lot."

She wrenched his arm behind his back, slammed him up against the wall, and hissed in his ear,

"Touch me again, creep, and I'll break it."

She released him and resumed walking to Landry's office. He caught up with her, clutching his now sore arm, and remarked,

"Wow, I like a little fire in my women."

She stopped, closed her eyes briefly in disgust, before saying,

"Don't even go there… I'm only working with you because of the deal, otherwise I would've dismembered you by now. You're lucky my boyfriend hasn't found out about your advances just yet."

He gulped and asked, "You've got a boyfriend?"

She remarked, angry, "You automatically assumed that I didn't?!"

"Well, you don't seem to be the homely type."

She rolled her eyes before walking away from him, and he called after her,

"Ok… you _are_ the homely type…"


	55. Family Ties: Lemon Chicken

**Author's Notes:** _Back on base, Cam, Sam and Daniel exchange a few words before he goes on his 'date'. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

While Sam and Daniel chatted in the former's lab, Cam walked in, dressed in civilian clothes. He remarked,

"You know, I think Jacek's gonna have some fun with those packing peanuts… I bet they'll be on the galaxy's equivalent of eBay… Jacek Mal Doran's Miracle drug… 'Cures what ails ya'!"

Daniel smiled as Sam chuckled, before the former asked,

"So… are you taking Vala out someplace?"

Cam shook his head and replied, "Nope, putting that off 'til next week… I was _hoping_ to get you two to tag along but you two have got some serious sleep to catch up on… whether you do or not, well…"

He winked at the blushing scientists, before saying, "Nah seriously, I've been thinking maybe we could all go camping in the Rockies."

There was a chorus of protests, and Sam remarked,

"We go camping everyday! Ok, it's on another planet, but…"

She glanced at Daniel, who shrugged before looking pointedly at Cam, who said,

"True… come on, it'll be fun! We can get Jackson to sing, and…"

Daniel held his hands up and said, "No way…"

Cam smiled teasingly at the Archaeologist, before saying, not doing a very good job at hiding a yawn,

"Anyway… I'm off home - I've got a date with some lemon chicken and my bed."

Sam chuckled, and Daniel remarked, deadpan, "Sounds messy."

Cam pointed at Daniel, glaring at him as he remarked, "Funny."


	56. Family Ties: Go Home

**Author's Notes:** _Sam gets Daniel to go home. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

After Cam left for his 'date', Sam noticed Daniel stifling a yawn, and she said as she caressed his jaw,

"Daniel, go home…"

He asked, concerned, "What about you?"

She replied, "I'll be home later… I'm going to hang out with Vala… she doesn't get to go off-base much and Cam's gone home."

"I could join you."

She remarked with a grin, "Not if you want to listen to us talk about our boyfriends… you'll probably get embarrassed."

He blushed, and she chuckled before kissing him. He whispered as they gazed at each other,

"Don't be too long…"

She caressed his jaw and whispered in reply, "That sounds like an offer too good to pass up."


	57. Family Ties: Girl Talk

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Vala talk in the latter's quarters. Missing scene from Family Ties._

--------------------

Vala remarked, "You're joking about the date, right?"

Sam ducked her head briefly before replying with a smile,

"Kind of… he said that he had a date with some lemon chicken… and his bed. Didn't he tell you anything?"

Vala shook her head and replied, "No… I haven't seen him since… ahem, since after the briefing… although I did sense him looking at me when the door was ajar… I think he thought that I needed some alone time after the whole Jacek thing. He could've said something though."

She asked, after clearing her throat and looking at her glass oddly,

"What is this stuff?"

Sam replied with a smile, "Grape juice… as I'm on duty until I sign out, I'm not allowed to drink… thought I'd jazz it up by having it in a wine bottle."

Vala pouted slightly in consideration, before saying, "Hm, that _is_ nice."

"Yeah… Daniel introduced me to it… you know, I think I could get used to not having alcohol in the house."

Vala remarked, "Oh, I can't imagine doing that… although none of your Earth alcohols are _nearly_ as strong as the ones that I'm accustomed to."

Sam chuckled and replied, "Well, it's refreshing to be almost teetotal."

"How come he doesn't drink?"

"He's intolerant, plus he takes allergy medications. He'd be bouncing off the walls. We were at General O'Neill's house one time, and he only had a small amount of beer, but he got excited about Teal'c's speaking style. Luckily the General took the bottle off him."

Vala remarked, "I would never have had him as the excited type… he seems annoyed a lot of the time, although I'll have to admit, he's a very good friend."

Sam replied with a grin, "That he is… he's great. That snarky thing has got worse since the General was promoted… It's just him subconsciously paying tribute to him."

"Wow… those two were pretty good friends, I take it?"

"Those two _are_ really good friends, although they don't usually talk that much now. The General is a _very_ private person but he told Daniel about his son dying and about his wife. I had worked with him for months but didn't know anything about that."

"What happened to Jack's son?"

Sam asked, "Daniel didn't tell you?"

Vala shook her head and replied, "No… he didn't even tell me about _his_ wife."

"Oh yeah, Sha're's generally a pretty touchy subject with him. The General, Teal'c and I know about her, but only because we met her."

"Oh… he doesn't trust me?"

"No… no, he's the type of person who would do all that he physically can to help you, regardless of his own pain. He would give, and has given, his life for what he believes in, in order to make a difference… and if he thinks that he hasn't, he'll beat himself up about it. He has a tendency to put others before him, and as a result, doesn't see himself as important."

"Wow… how is he not arrogant?"

"I sometimes ask myself that… sometimes, it's like he's too good to be true."


	58. Family Ties: Virginia Dialogues

**Author's Notes:** _Sam comes home and finds Daniel not asleep, and Teal'c rings. Tag for Family Ties. PG-13 (?) for an ambiguous mention of Teal'c's show._

--------------------

Sam quietly unlocked her door, and peered into the lounge to see the TV was on, albeit on a very low volume. As she made her way to the couch, she heard Daniel call,

"Sam?"

She stood over him as he lay on the couch, clutching an Afghan, and she said with a tired smile,

"Hey… did you get some sleep?"

He replied as he gazed up at her, "A little… it's funny how I spent almost eight years sleeping alone, not counting my ascended year, and now I can't sleep without you."

She smiled and sat down next to him after he moved his legs. She snuggled up to him and whispered into his t-shirt,

"Same here… I'm glad you're here though, because I'm absolutely shattered."

He kissed her forehead as they lay together, when, suddenly, the phone rang. He whispered as he made to get up,

"I'll get it."

"Hm."

He smiled as he noticed that she had dozed off, and he answered the phone:

"Hello?"

"DanielJackson… should we encounter Jacek again, it would be well within my rights to dismember him."

Daniel asked, "Teal'c! Hi… what happened?"

"He assured me that the tickets were for a show about the state of Virginia and conversation. He was wrong."

Daniel frowned slightly in thought before realising something. He blushed as he remarked,

"Oh… oh dear. He gave you tickets for a woman's show, didn't he?"

"Indeed, DanielJackson, and I was not aware of the fact until the lead character berated the lack of conversational topics regarding female organs."


	59. Dominion: Barney Bashing

**Author's Notes:** _Cam and Vala have a tender moment prior to her memory loss. Some Barney-bashing included. Pre-tag to Dominion._

--------------------

In the privacy of her quarters, Cam and Vala stood opposite each other, a very small gap between them. He caressed her jaw, gazing down at her, as she gazed up at him, her hands on his chest. He whispered with a concerned expression,

"I don't want you to do this, Vala."

She replied with a smile before closing her eyes as the intensity of his touch deepened,

"It'll be alright, Cameron. I just have to hoodwink my infamous daughter into believing that I have reverted to my life of crime, and then you guys step in. I already trust you with my life."

"That's just what I'm worried about. We still don't know _everything_ about the Galaran memory device - what if something goes wrong? You already lost your memory once after that little thing with Athena. What if it happens again? What if you're stuck with false memories?"

She opened her eyes and said, frowning slightly,

"It would still be me."

His hand dropped to her shoulder and he remarked, looking at her intensely,

"Are you sure? When you lost your memories, courtesy of some Goa'uld you pissed, you ended up working at a diner, and then being arrested… And _then_ you stripped me, before tying me up after I tried to rescue you. Teal'c, Jackson and Sam still won't let me forget that."

She remarked with a coy smile, "Well… how do you know that that wasn't me? For all you know, I could quite like the sight of you naked and in handcuffs."

He closed his eyes briefly before saying, embarrassed,

"Aw Vala…"

She interrupted him, a serious expression on her face as she swatted his chest,

"Don't you worry about me, Colonel Mitchell - I'll be alright. I've always managed to get through weird things, even more so these days."

"I'm gonna miss you. I love you - don't ever forget that."

"Well… whatever happens to my memories, I know that in my heart, I'll remember that I love you too."

The gap between them disappeared as he pulled her close, leaning down to kiss her. Their lips pressed together, their tongues caressing, delving and exploring each other. There was a sense of urgency to their actions, neither one of them knowing whether she would pull through the trial that lay in their future. Their hands roamed each other's bodies, and he whispered into her ear, momentarily breaking off the kiss,

"I'll wait for you, Vala."

She sighed slightly at the feel of his breath against the side of her neck, and she held him tighter, saying everything that she felt with that simple gesture.

When they parted, they gazed deeply into each other's eyes, each of them memorising everything about the other's face. She whispered, tears threatening to fall,

"I'll be back, Cameron."

He gazed at her sadly, and remarked, "This must be how Jackson and Sam feel before each mission."

She retorted with a slight smile as she ran her fingers through his hair,

"But neither of them are the mother of this galaxy's greatest threat since Barney."

Surprised, he exclaimed, "Barney?!"

"Oh come on, Cameron - if an idiotic purple dinosaur can have the power to enthral human children, there's no telling what havoc he could wreak."

He was about to sarcastically retort something about Barney not being real, when he noticed her eyes twinkling mischievously, so he smiled, remarking instead,

"Oh you… I thought it was gonna turn out like that time, nine years back, when Teal'c watched tonnes of TV and then insisted on carrying his staff weapon topside. Boy, what I would pay to actually have been there."


	60. Dominion: Sleepless in the Shower

**Author's Notes:** _Daniel can't sleep, and he and Sam talk about Vala. PG-13 for some shower-related nudity. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

Daniel sat up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. He was worried about whether Vala would be alright. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding his head in his hands. Sam stirred and squinted in the dark. Without a word, she knelt behind him and rubbed the tension from his shoulders. He exhaled slightly as her hands kneaded his muscles, and she whispered in his ear,

"Penny for your thoughts, Doctor Jackson?"

He whispered, "I'm not sure that they're worth _that_ much."

She sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, and remarked with a smile,

"You're right… not in the way you think though. Your thoughts are worth much more than that. Come on, out with it, or face the wrath of the Carter-Jackson tickler-in-chief."

Before he could defend himself, she demonstrated her threat, but instead of playing along as he usually did, he stood up and walked out of the room. She frowned slightly before running after him, calling quietly,

"Daniel, what's wrong?"

She followed him into the bathroom where he quickly undressed and stepped into the shower. She blinked slowly as she wordlessly watched the water stream down his taut body. She mentally shook herself before remarking,

"I suppose you want me to join you then."

She chuckled as she took her own clothes off and joined him. Only then did he acknowledge her presence. He gazed down at her and said, years of pain resurfacing in his eyes,

"What if Adria kills her? What if the memory device didn't work as planned and she permanently loses her memories? I still think that this was a huge mistake but she was so insistent that this was the only way."

She pulled him into a hug and whispered, "Vala's a very capable woman, Daniel. If anyone can pull it off, it's her, and besides, this _is_ the only way seeing as Adria subconsciously is a little girl looking for her mother's approval. Maybe with the Ori dead, we can use that to our advantage."

"But we've replaced her memories so she thinks that we betrayed her. She's going to be really upset, and I'm not sure how bad Mitchell's taking this whole thing."

She rubbed his back, still hugging him, as she replied, "I know, but she'll understand when we bring her back to the SGC. As for Cam, well, despite being rather upset and risking his girlfriend's life like this, deep down, he understands. Is this what you were worried about?"

He nodded and she pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes. She said firmly,

"She's going to be fine… we'll bring her back and show her the video."

He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her tenderly before saying,

"I'm sorry for waking you up."

She glanced down at his body and remarked with a cheeky grin as she ran her hands over his chest,

"Well, couldn't miss a late night showing of my boyfriend's delectable torso, now could I?!"

He ducked his head briefly in embarrassment, blushing to the roots of his hair.


	61. Dominion: Frustration

**Author's Notes:** _On base, Cam is having a hard time dealing with Vala's 'disappearance'. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

Cam was alone on the basketball court, which symbolised how he felt about the current situation. He bounced the basketball a little too hard, trying to work out his pain and frustration. In the heat of the moment, he threw the ball against the wall, and it impacted with a satisfying crack.

Unbeknownst to him, Teal'c had quietly slipped in and regarded the Southern Colonel with silent sympathy. He watched as Cam slammed the ball repeatedly into the wall, scuffing the paintwork. As a battle-hardened warrior, he knew all too well how much Cam needed to release his frustration.

After watching him for a few minutes, Teal'c piped up,

"ColonelMitchell."

Cam stopped, his back to the Jaffa, and he said, "What?"

"It is not wrong to be angry at the current situation. Your Sim'ka is risking her life."

Still turned away, Cam sarcastically remarked, "Yeah… thanks, as if I didn't know that already."

He sighed, his shoulders drooping before he said, "Aw, I'm sorry T… it's just so damn hard. It's harder than all the missions we've been on… well, at least it feels that way. I shouldn't have let her go."

Teal'c replied, "We know that she would have gone through with this plan regardless. She believed it to be the right course of action to take. I believe that she will return unharmed."

"That's not the point! She's out there, alone, with false memories. What if Adria does something bad to her?"

"She will not - she will not be able to sense any sign of ValaMalDoran lying, and ValaMalDoran herself will not be able to discern the lies from the truth."

"It still doesn't make it right, T."

"Indeed."


	62. Dominion: Flashback

**Author's Notes:** _One of Vala's 'flashbacks' is of a more personal nature. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

_Soon after Daniel left, leaving Vala feeling terribly depressed, Cam knocked on the door and entered. She was turned away from him, the slight movement of her shoulders the only sign that she was crying. He quietly approached her and said,_

"_Vala…"_

_She dried her eyes and spun around saying, "Don't Cameron. Whatever you're going to say, don't. It's quite obvious that I'm not welcome here any more."_

_He caressed her jaw and replied, "She's controlling you and as long as she can do that, the entire planet is at risk…"_

_She snapped as she through his hand away, "I thought that you of all people would believe me!"_

_He retorted, looking hurt, "Vala, Reynolds lost two of his men, and you're telling me that your crazy dream wasn't responsible for that!"_

_She was about to say something but he interrupted her,_

"_That's why I'm backing the General and the IOA with confining you to Area 51. I don't want to but if it means ensuring the safety of this planet, then…"_

_She gazed up at him, anger hardening her features, and she remarked sarcastically,_

"_Nice to know how high I am in your list of priorities! Perhaps with me out of the picture, you'll be free to go after that fair maiden of Shawnee County!"_

_He closed his eyes briefly and replied, "Vala, you know I love you and only you, but I have to do the right thing. As long as you're compromised, we cannot be in a relationship any longer. You're a smart, intelligent woman - surely you can understand."_

"_All I understand, Colonel Mitchell, is that your lack of trust and faith in me is resurfacing."_

_He said tenderly, reaching out to her, "Vala…"_

_She pushed his hand away and said quietly, "I think you better leave… NOW!"_

_He gazed at her sadly for a moment, whispering, "I'm sorry," before leaving. She looked up at the closed door and tears ran down her cheeks._

In the off-world bar, Adria remarked, "And yet you believed in those pathetic humans. I am surprised that you stayed for as long as you did."

Vala turned away as a stray tear rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away before resuming her story.


	63. Dominion: Reaching Out

**Author's Notes:** _Back on base, Cam tries to reach out to Vala but she rebuffs his attempts. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

Vala stood glaring at the familiar surroundings of her quarters. It was the last place in the galaxy that she wanted to find herself in, and she furiously wiped away a stray tear as she thought of what had happened. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and she called,

"Come in… don't bother with courtesy, you were already planning on locking me up!"

The door opened to reveal the sombre looking figure of Cam. He closed the door behind him, and she angrily remarked as she turned away from him,

"Oh, _you_ again."

His eyes showed his inner pain as he said, "Vala, I'm sorry."

She folded her arms across her chest and retorted,

"That's not good enough… you ended our relationship and now you have the audacity to try to talk to me! Get out!"

His voice took on a pleading tone as he said, "Vala, please…"

"I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear how much you're still in love with _her_, and would rather be knocking boots and more with her, as opposed to some dark-haired thief who has crazy dreams that just so happen to get people killed!"

He closed his eyes briefly before saying, forcing her to turn around,

"Vala… I told you that I love you and only you… this whole thing's a setup. I never doubted you for one second."

She slapped him across the face and retorted, "You dare lie to me after breaking my heart?! Get out!"

He was about to say something else when she grabbed a nearby book. He shielded himself with his arms as she threw it at him with a force sufficient enough to incapacitate an elephant. Luckily, for him, he had stepped out of the way and it lightly grazed his forearm. He took the hint and with sadness in his eyes, left the room.

She stared at the closed door, tears running down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away.


	64. Dominion: The Truth

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel tell Vala the truth. Missing scene from Dominion._

---------------------

Vala then asked Daniel, who was still perched on the table,

"If all that was false, what about Cameron?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged a brief look, before Sam said with a smile,

"Yeah… about that… that was another lie. You insisted that it had to be as convincing as possible, so you had us create a 'memory' of a moment in your quarters."

Daniel continued with a slight smile, "Oh yes… you wouldn't settle for anything less."

Vala stared from one scientist to the other and sceptically remarked,

"You mean that he _hasn't_ called things off between us, and that he isn't in love with Amy Vandenberg?!"

Daniel ducked his head briefly before replying,

"It was all a false memory, but that thing about Amy was something that you surmised. Mitchell still loves you and if he did go after that other woman again, he knows I'll break his legs."

A little thrill ran through Sam at the sound of Daniel being defensive but she managed to control herself. Vala got up and said quickly,

"Well… thank you for this delightful chat, but I must be going… I think I may have injured Cameron."

She quickly left, and Sam remarked to Daniel,

"Hm, Doctor Jackson, another job well done."

He turned to smile at her, and said, his cerulean eyes sparkling, "Well, Colonel-Doctor, I don't think it is a cause for celebration just yet, but we'll see."

He quickly got up to leave, but en route to the door he stood behind her chair before bending down to wrap his arms around her. She leant into his embrace and smiled as she asked,

"Do you think we'll be going on that double date yet?"

He nuzzled her as he replied, "Perhaps… we'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out… To be honest, I rather like _our_ al fresco dates."

She chuckled, blushing at his rare suggestive forthrightness, and he said, smiling against her neck,

"There's still the problem of Baal capturing Adria… I'm quite sure that he doesn't want her for cookie recipes."

"Ah, but if he did, they could poison the galaxy by having the Baal clones posing as girl scouts."

He closed his eyes as he remarked, "_Not_ a mental image to have during a mission."

He kissed her neck before saying as he straightened up, "Come on, we've got to go to the briefing room, and I'd rather not have Mitchell make that remark again in front of the General about us being late because we used the make-out closet on level 23."

She chuckled as she stood up, and remarked,

"We'll probably want to steer clear of it if _he_ knows about it… he probably scouted it for him and Vala."

"Well… at least you hope it's for him _and_ Vala…"

She playfully hit him before doing a passable impression of Cam,

"Come on Jackson, let's roll."


	65. Dominion: Patching Up

**Author's Notes:** _Vala goes to patch things up with Cam. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

Vala stood outside of Cam's office, processing what she had learnt. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

She heard him call, "Come in," so she opened the door to find him with his head on his folded arms, behind his desk. He looked up and she was taken aback at seeing the hurt and anguish just below the surface. He remarked her as he straightened up,

"What do you want? Do you want to make me bleed this time… or maybe have me lose consciousness?"

She took another deep breath before saying, "I'm sorry… Sam and Daniel told me everything, and I saw the video. It's taking some time to process all the new facts, and that that little thing in my quarters didn't really happen. I'm sorry for hitting you and for throwing that book at you."

He slowly got up and looked at her, asking, "Really? Does that mean that _we're_ still on?"

She replied with a smile, "We never stopped."

He pulled her into a hug, relief washing over the both of them as the misunderstanding faded from view. She closed her eyes in his embrace, savouring the contact. He smiled against her neck as he said,

"I missed you so much… I didn't want you to go through with it."

"Oh, I can imagine."

He leant down to kiss her tenderly, but she grabbed the back of his head, pulling him down for a hot and hungry kiss to make up for everything that she had _thought_ had happened. He, stiffening in surprise at first, relaxed and returned the gesture, until an Airman knocked on the door. They pulled apart, blushing, and the Airman said with barely stifled amusement,

"Colonel, Miss Mal Doran, you're late for the briefing."

Cam and Vala gazed at each other for a brief moment, smiling, before Cam said to the Airman,

"We'll be right down, Airman."


	66. Dominion: Good Luck

**Author's Notes:** _Prior to Adria's surgery, Sam and Daniel have a tender moment. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

As Sam geared up for the surgery with the Tok'ra, Daniel walked in. She looked up, holding her protective mask, and said with a smile,

"Hey."

He gazed at her with concern and said, "Sam… if this doesn't work out, I want you to know that I love you."

He caressed her jaw, and she smiled up at him, replying,

"And I love you. It's going to be fine…"

"What if the symbiote goes inside of you?"

"And precisely would that achieve? He needs Adria so that he can control not only his army, but hers too. Why would he want me?"

He replied with a sigh, "I don't know, but I'd rather not find out… I've already lost Sha're to a Goa'uld, and I nearly lost Sarah… I don't want to lose you. Just be careful, ok?"

"With you rooting for me, I'll be fine."

She quickly kissed him, just as Juseen remarked,

"As much as I appreciate the precarious nature of this procedure and the risks that it entails, we should begin."

Daniel glanced at the Tok'ra, before whispering,

"Good luck."

"Thanks."


	67. Dominion: Chastisement

**Author's Notes:** _After Vala walks off, troubled by the fact that it's her daughter on the operating table, Cam chastises himself for not going after her. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

Vala, unable to take the pain any longer, walked away to be with herself. Cam watched her retreating figure, debating whether he should go after her or leave well alone. Before he could reach a decision, Daniel went after her. Cam sighed slightly and went back to watching the surgery with only half his mind on it. Teal'c asked,

"ColonelMitchell, you appear troubled."

Cam remarked, angry with himself, "I should've gone after her, but I didn't. I mean, she's my girlfriend, not Jackson's, and…"

"Are you concerned that DanielJackson is attempting to…"

Cam interrupted him, saying, "No… he'd never do that… it's just all this crazy crap is confusing me, and now I have to choose between being an upstanding soldier and a boyfriend - I shouldn't have to do that."

"Perhaps, when we return to Earth, you can comfort ValaMalDoran."

"Perhaps…"

Before he could continue, they noticed that a monitor was beeping in the Infirmary. They sprinted past Vala and Daniel, who followed them into the room.


	68. Dominion: Mission Thoughts

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Cam's thoughts as their other halves are locked just outside, and inside the Infirmary, respectively. Missing scenes from Dominion._

--------------------

Sam had to force herself to focus on overriding the door mechanism from the auxiliary control panel. Daniel and Vala needed her to be able to get them out and quite frankly, the heat was getting to her. She forced her panic down and focussed on what she had to do.

She silently prayed that Daniel would be alright, and that Cam wouldn't be heartbroken. At one point, she hit the console in frustration before radioing Cam that she couldn't do it.

She had just managed to rein in her feelings when she detected a coolant leak in the corridor that Daniel was in. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she radioed to tell him that he needed to get out, fast, due to the toxic nature of the coolant. With a great exercise of will, she forced herself to focus once more, working on a way to reroute the coolant. Daniel needed her and after all the times he had saved not only her life, but everyone else's, she wasn't going to let him down.

_--------------------_

Cam too had to force himself to focus. Not only was his girlfriend stuck with a psychopathic murderer, one of his best friends, who just so happened to be the boyfriend of another one of his best friends, was stuck, alone. He and Teal'c worked on cutting one of many doors, but he knew that there wasn't enough time. He silently prayed that Sam would find a way to cut them loose.

His stomach felt as though it was sinking when Sam told him that the override wasn't working. However, he channelled his energies into getting the door open, not wanting to hear Sam telling him that it was closed perhaps due to Adria's telekinetic abilities. He longed to see Vala again, to hold her in his arms, to kiss her, but the chances of that were decreasing by each second Daniel and Vala remained stuck.

His stomach felt as though it had gone Titanic when he heard that Daniel was being exposed to coolant. This made him work harder, murmuring under his breath,

"I'm not leaving until these doors are open."

Teal'c replied quietly, "I must say the same, ColonelMitchell."


	69. Dominion: Coolant Leak

**Author's Notes:** _As Daniel is exposed to coolant, thanks to Adria, he thinks of Sam. PG-13 for some rather steamy memories. Song mentioned is Sweet Surrender by B.B.A. Missing scene from Dominion._

--------------------

"_Uh, Daniel, I'm showing a coolant leak in the hallway you're in right now."_

"_Got that, thanks. It's Adria! She's trying to distract us!"_

"_Well, it's a hell of a distraction. The stuff's toxic. You need to get out of there, right now."_

"_Yeah, that's gonna be a problem!"_

He banged on the door, yelling to Vala, "Vala, if you can hear me, I really need you to open the door!"

The seconds went by, turning into minutes, and he began to choke on the fumes. He tried to keep his mind focussed, but he felt it wandering. He whispered,

"Sam."

Soon, he realised that he couldn't go on any more, and he thought of her, her golden hair glowing in the moonlight, soft to his touch. It was such a vivid image. A dopey smile spread across his face as his last conscious thought surfaced - the two of them making love under the stars, with the sounds of Sweet Surrender mingling with the night air. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though he was there again, and he could hear her moan and giggle beneath his touch. He could see the love in her eyes and her beautiful skin looking almost ethereal in the light of the full moon.

"_Shine, shine on brightly,_

_Take away the night,_

_We'll float oh so lightly,_

_On the morning bright…_

_Sweet, sweet surrender,_

_Come to me now,_

_So warm and tender,_

_I will show you how…"_

He sighed and whispered, "I love you, Sam" as he felt the last remnants of his consciousness fading.

A moment later, he heard Cam call his name, and he snapped awake, finding his surroundings a little clearer. He said,

"I'm ok."


	70. Dominion: Comfort

**Author's Notes:** _Earthside again and after the debriefing, Sam, alone in her lab, contemplates what very nearly happened, and Daniel comforts her. Tag to Dominion._

--------------------

Sam stood in her lab, her back to the door. She let out an audible sigh as it fully sank in that she had nearly lost Daniel again. Each time it happened, it didn't get easier, but this time they had a deeper emotional connection, and it hurt much more than previous occasions, although they had hurt pretty badly, especially when she had watched him die from radiation poisoning.

She held onto the worktop, her knuckles whitening as she hunched over, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. Up until then, she had kept a rein on her emotions, getting through the debriefing on auto-pilot and resisting the urge to throw herself at Daniel. Daniel had tried to reach out to her but she rebuffed his advances, shutting him out, which on further reflection, wasn't exactly the wisest course of action.

Daniel appeared in the doorway, fresh from another medical exam, and he immediately realised what was happening, having witnessed a similar thing in Jack on many occasions. He remembered watching an oblivious Jack cry alone in his office after Daniel had gone missing following the fall of the Replicators.

He silently approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist, thinking for a wry moment that Jack probably would have been weirded out if he had done this to him, despite the rumours.

She melted into his embrace, and he held her, closing his eyes as they stood together in a peaceful silence. She dried her eyes and whispered,

"I nearly lost you again, Daniel."

He whispered back, "I know…"

He nuzzled her neck, and she closed her eyes, savouring his presence. A hand softly caressed her stomach, and he whispered,

"Come on, let's go home."

She turned around and pulled him into a hug, whispering,

"You ever die again, I'm personally going to drag you back, kicking and screaming if I have to."

He moved her hair out of her eyes before saying with a smile,

"That's a pretty scary threat."

"Damn straight."

Before he could reply, she reached up and pulled him down for a very passionate kiss, her fingers playing with the soft hair at the nape of his neck.


	71. Dominion: Plans

**Author's Notes:** _Cam and Vala take a step forward in their relationship. Rated PG-13 for some obscure rudeness. Tag to Dominion._

--------------------

Once more in the privacy of her quarters, Cam and Vala stood opposite each other. There were no words said as they said everything they needed with their eyes and actions. He smiled down at her, moving a strand of hair from her eyes, and she ran her hands across his chest. He leant down and kissed her tenderly, before resting his chin on her shoulder.

He broke the silence by whispering in her ear, "How about you stay over at my apartment tonight?"

She retorted with a smile, "Oh?"

He gazed at her, his hands on her shoulders, as he said,

"I'll be a gentleman, Air Force officer's honour."

She looked disappointed, before replying with a coy expression,

"Hm, maybe I don't want you to be a gentleman."

Surprised, he gazed at her and asked, "Are you sure? I don't want to rush things… we haven't even had a date."

She replied with a smile, "Well… seeing as Samantha and Daniel forwent the whole date concept prior to the night of passion, there's no harm in us following suit."

"Yeah, but they've known each other for ten years - I've only really gotten to know you this past year."

He caressed her jaw and whispered,

"It's up to you… don't feel that you have to do anything. We're both pretty tired anyway."

She kissed him again, and whispered, "We can both literally sleep together tonight then."

"Ok… I'll clear it with Landry."


	72. Dominion: Passion

**Author's Notes:** _Cam and Vala find that just sleeping together is an almost Herculean task. Things begin to heat up. Rated NC-17… hoo boy, yes. Tag for Dominion._

--------------------

Vala sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in a large t-shirt. She was a little apprehensive at sleeping with Cam, knowing how much she had actually wanted to forgo the sleeping part on several occasions anyway. Cam emerged from the bathroom in his boxers and he threw on a t-shirt when he noticed her expression. He said with a smile,

"It's ok Vala, I'll take the couch."

She shook her head and said, "No, it's ok… it's just that I've been thinking about _this…_ well, not so much _this_ but… you know."

She gazed up at him and asked, "Do you think we'll be able to actually sleep?"

He shrugged and replied, "I don't know… my couch offer's still open though. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

In reply, she got up and wrapped her arms around his waist, saying with a smile,

"It's your apartment, Cameron…. come on, we can at least try to sleep first."

He nodded slowly before they lay down. He held her in his arms after switching the light off, and they talked about the SGC and the recent mission. When they had finished, he closed his eyes, trying to resist the temptation to make passionate love to the woman of his dreams. He told himself,

"Ok, you can do this, Cam… just one night."

She gazed up at him with a smile, appreciating his effort. After all, she thought, it couldn't be easy to be a gentleman when you had Vala Mal Doran in your bed. She smiled again before closing her eyes.

As the minutes turned into hours, they both realised that their efforts to sleep were increasingly futile. He whispered,

"Vala?"

"Hm?"

"You havin' trouble sleepin'?"

"Yeah."

"You want me to take the couch?"

In reply, she clambered on top of him, kissing him. Her kisses grew frenzied with need as he caressed the skin beneath her t-shirt. He massed enough will power to push her away slightly, and he asked,

"Vala, are you absolutely sure?"

She nodded, her eyes glazed over, and he continued,

"We don't have to do this now… it's your call."

"Cameron, to tell the truth, I've always wanted this, since we met… Do you remember what I said when I came through the Stargate that first time?"

He dumbly nodded, remembering her leather-clad self making a remark, and she continued,

"I made it sound insulting, but it was a compliment."

"Aw Vala…"

He caressed the side of her face as she closed her eyes, savouring the caress. He whispered,

"I love you."

"I love you too."

He ran his fingers through her hair before her mouth descended on his once more. He allowed himself to respond and his fingers ran down her spine, which made her buck slightly as she felt something akin to an electrical charge surge through herself. He managed to pull her t-shirt off, and gasped on seeing her naked for the first time. He whispered in her ear between kisses,

"Oh Vala, you're beautiful."

"You're not too bad yourself, Cameron."

He chuckled as he rolled her over, throwing his own t-shirt off in the process. He showered her body with kisses, which proceeded to drive her crazy with desire. Unable to take any more, she rolled them back over so that he was on his back, and she remarked with a grin as she looked down,

"Hmmm…"

He blushed slightly as he lovingly gazed up at her, and she yanked his boxers off, throwing them onto the floor. She said with an appreciative smile,

"Wow… for once, I'm speechless."

He retorted with a grin mirroring hers,

"Hope that's a good thing."

She positioned herself over him once more, the two of them making love to each other, feeling as though surges of electricity were repeatedly passing through them. They began to move together as their excitement and passion grew in intensity, and she bucked when his mouth came into contact with her chest. She glanced downwards before shifting herself between his thighs.

Her eyes slid shut as the sensations of their union overwhelmed her, and he too shut his eyes. They began to move together, their movements jerking more and more in intensity, and they groaned each other's names. The passion grew in intensity, and they hit their climax simultaneously, the cries of each other's names at alarmingly high decibels.

Finally, she collapsed on top of him, exhaling with an exhausted grin,

"Wow… that was better than anything I have ever experienced, even when I was Qetesh."

He kissed her neck, whispering, "That was beautiful… I don't think there are adequate words to describe it, not in all of Jackson's twenty-seven plus languages."

He wrapped his arms around her as she kissed his shoulder, their breathing evening out. His fingers ran the length of her spine, and she felt yet another electrical charge surge through her body. She whispered,

"Hmmm… I don't know about you, but I think I can go another round."

She glanced at him and asked, "How about you?"

He gazed at her, replying with a tired smile, "Sure, but… I think we'll have to wait a few minutes."

She nodded in understanding and remarked with a grin,

"I was just going to suggest that."


	73. Dominion: Comfort Part II

**Author's Notes:** _After getting home, Sam and Daniel stay up late and talk about what happened before having some fun. Tag to Dominion. PG-13 for a mention of Daniel's 'dream' and some passion._

--------------------

Daniel held Sam in his arms as they lay together, and she wept into his shoulder. He was close to tears himself, the full depth of what had nearly happened sinking in. Finally, he let the tears run, and they wept together, him rubbing her back. The mission had taken its toll on both of them.

When the tears subsided, he whispered, "I think we should talk about this, Sam."

She shook her head and replied, her words muffled by his chest,

"No… I just want you to hold me so that I know you're here."

He kissed her hair before holding her a little tighter. A few minutes passed, the two of savouring each other's company. Finally, she whispered,

"I'll take you up on that offer now."

He smoothed her shoulder and replied, "Ok…"

She propped herself up on her elbows so that she could look down at him, and she said, fighting the tears that threatened to follow their predecessors,

"I was really scared that I was going to lose you again, Daniel. You know how much I don't like being scared, and it reminded me of all the times that we had nearly lost you before. I was scared that maybe this time would really be the last."

He gazed up at her and replied as he tenderly moved her hair behind her ears,

"When I was choking… I saw you."

She frowned slightly before saying as a tear ran down her cheek,

"Oh my God, delusions."

He shook his head as he dried the tear with his thumb, replying,

"No… it was a memory of the time when we made love last week under the stars. It was just so vivid, and if I'd died then, I would have had a smile on my face."

The tears ran down her face uncontrollably, falling onto his chest, and he pulled her into a hug, burying his face into her hair. He felt lucky to be alive and with her at that moment, and he promised himself that he would always find a way to come back to her, even if he 'died' again.

He sat up, pulling her into his lap and cradling her, before saying,

"I'm never going to leave you again Sam, I promise. If I do, I'm not going to stay away forever, and I've got a reason to now."

She looked up at him and asked, "Would it make a difference if I resigned, or if…"

He interrupted her, placing a finger on her lips, before replying,

"No Sam - if this war needs anyone, it's you. I would never make you give this up, not now, not ever. We both know that we wouldn't give up the fight anyway… but if anyone had to, it would be me, because what use am I? You're the one developing technologies to give us the upper hand - you practically invented the dialling computer, and you know how the 'gate works. What am I going to do - bore Adria to death by reciting the Enuma Elish in its original form?"

She gazed up at him, amazed, and then she exclaimed,

"Daniel Jackson, you have got to be the most oblivious man to ever walk the planet! We can't do this without you either! You opened the 'gate and opened up the Universe for us. If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have been able to make the great strides that we have in understanding Astrophysics, Chemistry, flight technology, Linguistics, Archaeology, Ancient History, Quantum Physics… dear God…"

He replied, blushing, "Sam, if I hadn't had done it, someone else would have. I'm just an Archaeologist and a Linguist - it wouldn't have been too long before it clicked to someone else that those were constellations on the 'gate, and then work out the 3-D nature of the address system."

She swatted him across the chest and continued,

"You are definitely the long-term cover model of Oblivious Monthly!"

He remarked with a grin, "Would an oblivious guy do this?!," before quickly capturing her lips in a very, very passionate kiss. During the embrace, she gently pushed him back onto the bed, straddling his torso. She reached behind her, making him yelp in surprise, and he broke off the kiss, exclaiming,

"Sam!?"

She retorted with a grin, "That's what you get for being a smart-ass."

He raised his eyebrows and remarked, "Oh really?!"

She sat on top of him, a smug smile on her face as she folded her arms across her chest. Quick as a flash, he took charge of the situation, pinning her beneath him, before remarking as he got his revenge,

"Civilian Archaeologist beats Air Force Astrophysicist."

"You're only saying that because you've got three doctorates."

"Ah, yes… there's that."

She retorted with a grin, "Geek."

"Oh yes, and you're not!?"

Feigning shock, she grappled with him, and they ended up with her on top once more, both of them giggling like schoolchildren. He pulled her into a hug before whispering into her hair,

"Come on, let's go and watch a DVD… I'm not sure I want to sleep just yet."

She remarked with a chuckle, "Sure, but nothing with fighting in it - you already took advantage of me once tonight without learning some more moves."

He blushed, and she continued, feigning shock, "Where did my innocent Doctor Jackson go!?"


	74. Damp Proofing

**Author's Notes:** _Sam and Daniel notice some things at the SGC._

--------------------

Daniel walked through the corridors, humming slightly as he looked through a folder detailing artefacts found on a previous mission. His mind wandered to what Sam had brought up the previous night, and he wondered how things would turn out for them.

Boot falls interrupted his reverie, and he looked up to see Vala coming towards him, a huge grin plastered on her face, a bounce in her step. He chewed his lip, realising what had happened, and stopped, waiting for her to notice him. However, she was oblivious to his presence and strolled straight past him, ever smiling. He chuckled to himself before deciding to swing by Sam's to see if she'd noticed anything with Cam.

--------------------

Sam, grabbing a cup of coffee at the Commissary, noticed Cam sitting alone, staring at the tabletop with a dreamy smile on his face. She frowned slightly before joining him, asking,

"Hey Cam, you didn't call this morning - everything alright?"

He didn't seem to hear her as he continued to gaze at the tabletop with a smile, and she gently prodded him. He looked up, blinked a few times before saying,

"Sorry… hi Sam."

She sipped her coffee with a smirk before asking, "So… what's up with the dreamy look?"

Before he could reply, he yawned, and she chuckled, making the poor southern Colonel blush. She remarked with a grin,

"Late night?"

He rested his head on his folded arms before replying, his voice muffled,

"Um, yeah… I was reading mission reports."

"Yeah right. Did Vala join you?"

She smiled as she noticed the tops of his ears beginning to redden, and before she could stop herself, she chuckled. She then patted his head and remarked in a teasing voice,

"There, there, Colonel Mitchell, there's no need to get all embarrassed. We're all adults here. I bet you forgot you had to come in today though."

He groaned audibly before looking up and remarking,

"Fine, fine, you've got you revenge for what I said after you and Jackson got your act together!"

She smiled knowingly at him as he practically ran from the Commissary, his face ever reddening.

----------------

As she walked down a corridor, she was suddenly grabbed and dragged into a storage closet, the door quickly closing behind her. She gasped in surprise before smelling a very familiar scent. She exclaimed quietly,

"Daniel!?"

He shushed her, putting a finger to her lips and whispered,

"I think Mitchell and Vala had some sailor fun last night."

Giggling, she whispered past his finger, "_Sailor fun_!?"

He replied distractedly, "It's from an episode of Friends when Phoebe meets Mike's parents…"

She put a finger to his lips, silencing him, and replied,

"I know… I've seen it - I just didn't think you were the Friends type. I mean, you've watched it with me but you didn't show any signs of interest in it."

He remarked, "You learn something new everyday…"

He continued with a chuckle, "Well, in our case, it's a plural."

She chuckled, before he whispered in her ear,

"Anyway, double reason for dragging you in here… It's driving me nuts not being able to hold you during the day."

"Hm, same here, Doctor Jackson, but we've done this in both of our offices before."

He replied, "True, but Landry's wandering around there…"

"Don't want to give our commanding officer a free show?"

"Or a paid one… eww."

"Eww multiplied by a factor of infinity… so what did you have in mind?"

"This."

He held her in his arms as he proceeded to kiss her exceedingly thoroughly. They parted, breathless, and she remarked,

"Oh boy, I'm definitely up for a repeat performance of that… where the heck do you get your ideas from?!"

He retorted, "Suppressed sexual desire."

She chuckled softly, realising how much he was blushing. She reached up, cupping his jaw with one hand as she kissed him softly, whispering,

"I don't suppose you'll be working late tonight."

Gazing down at her in the dim light, he remarked, "Oh yes, definitely - a different project this time."

She playfully hit him, and he kissed her, just as the door opened and the two of them were bathed in the harsh light of the corridor. They sheepishly looked towards the door to see none other than Jack standing there with a very amused smirk on his face.

Daniel stammered, "Um, I-I was just checking the damp proofing."

Sam, blushing like crazy, added, "And I was helping him."

Cam moved into view, and remarked, "Hoo boy, you're lucky Landry isn't wandering round this part!"

Jack remarked, "So… damp proofing, huh? Yeah… Anywho, come on, let's go to the Commissary - you can check out the damp proofing later… I heard there's a new system, probably made of magnets, where you can do it from home."

Sam and Daniel, both of them very red, stepped out into the corridor, with Cam and Jack laughing at them as they walked away.


	75. Unending: Embarrassment

**Author's Notes:** _In the Commissary, Jack has some fun at Sam and Daniel's expense. Could quite possibly be a pre-tag to Unending ((sob))._

--------------------

As they sat down with their mugs of coffee, plates of pie and cups of jello, a still blushing Daniel asked Jack,

"So Jack, what are you doing here?"

Jack remarked with a smirk, "Just swinging in to see my favourite scientists… way more than I should…"

Sam suddenly found her slice of pie _very_ fascinating as she reddened profusely. Daniel cleared his throat in embarrassment before retorting,

"Shut up Jack."

Jack smiled slightly before continuing, "Truth be told, I miss this place… plus, I want to try to go on your next mission. El Presidente's all 'no, you can't be on the same ship as the head of the SGC', and I was like 'yeah, alright Hay-man, pull the other one.' Ok… I may have _heavily_ paraphrased that last part but you get the picture. Bottom line is there are all sorts of security risks with me going with Hank, so I'm still haggling. I mean, Hammond got a chance to take the Prometheus out for a spin… I think I'm due a breaking in session with this ship… You know, rumour hath it that it's known as the ugliest ship in the galaxy… I'd say those damn Replicator things were the _ugliest_."

Sam remarked with a smile, "You want to see Thor, don't you?"

"There's that. I don't think he'll show up though… Hermiod's driving the Atlantis gang nuts, and this Kvasir guy is a total arrogant ass… hm, maybe him and that arrogant ass McKay could get married - they'd make quite the couple… Speaking of _marriage_, when are you two going to tie the knot? It's been six months since you realised that you were made for each other."

Poor Daniel spluttered in surprise, despite the thought of marriage occasionally surfacing, blushing a deeper shade of red than previously. Sam ducked her head in embarrassment, before taking a sideways glance at the Archaeologist. Jack continued smirking as he watched the two of them, before remarking,

"Well, when you guys get round to it in between saving the galaxy, I want to be the first to know. Oh boy, your kids are going to be _scary_. You two already scare me _a lot_ but your kids… they'll be curing Cancer, talking their way out of trouble, scare the remaining Goa'uld to death by spouting a tonne of techno babble, _and_ still find time to drool over rocks that once belonged to a bunch of dead guys."

The scientists continued blushing, both of them very embarrassed. Cam, Teal'c and Vala, who had been seated on the other side of the Commissary, grinned at their friends, before Cam remarked,

"D'you think they've suffered enough?"

Vala replied with a smile, "Yeah… come on, let's go save them."

Teal'c added with a frown, "I am perturbed that you did not consider this earlier."

Cam replied with an intense gaze, "Aw come on T…"

Teal'c interrupted him, saying, "They did not mock Ish'ta and me, so I had no need to inflict this method of torture on them, but I will admit that it is of a humorous nature."


	76. Unending: Thor

**Author's Notes:** _Aboard the Odyssey, Sam is upset at the impending death of the Asgard, especially that of Thor, and Daniel comforts her. Missing scene from Unending._

---------------------

Her tears threatened to fall as the news began to sink in. They were going to lose Thor. She couldn't cry though, not in front of everyone, and be _the girl_. Yes, she was upset and was looking very upset, but no, she wasn't going to cry, not here. At the first opportunity, she fled from the bridge of the Odyssey into an empty corridor, where she hit the wall, wild in her grief.

A few seconds later, Daniel asked Cam, after looking up and noticing that Sam was gone,

"Where's Sam?"

Cam shrugged and replied, "I don't know… she looked really upset when she was talking to Thor."

Daniel immediately got very worried and he left the bridge. He could make out the muffled sound of sobbing, and he followed the sound. He found her sat on the floor in an isolated corridor, her back resting on the wall. She was hugging her knees to her chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.

His heart aching on seeing her that way, he sat down next to her and immediately put his arm around her, whispering into her hair as he drew her closer,

"Sam… you don't have to grieve alone."

Her muffled reply was, "They're all going to die, Daniel. I can't believe we're going to lose Thor. General O'Neill should be here. I wish we could do something for them… there must be _something_. The most advanced race in the known Universe is going to die, just like that, and we can't help them, despite coming so far in our own development. How ironic is that? We're the fifth race, but most of the rest are gone, or will be gone."

He rubbed her shoulder and whispered, "I know… the Universe sucks. We're helping them though - we're accepting their legacy. They'll live on through that."

"But it won't be the same."

"I know, Sam, I know. I wish I was still ascended - maybe I could've done something about it."

"Oh Daniel."

She kissed him on the jaw, and he said as he helped her up,

"Come on; let's go back to the bridge."

She nodded and was about to go, when he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her towards him, and kissed her. When they parted, and she looked at him in surprise, he said,

"You're not alone, Sam, and never will be. You're stuck with me."

She retorted with a grin, "Not a bad deal."


	77. Unending: Memory Loss

**Author's Notes:** _A couple of weeks into being stuck aboard the Odyssey, Daniel and Vala can't remember their relationships with Sam and Cam. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

On the bridge of the Odyssey, Daniel kept Sam company as she worked with Thor's hologram in saving the ship. He told her funny stories to keep her spirit up, and at one point said with a proud smile,

"I believe in you Sam. I know if anyone can do this, it's you."

Looking up from her work, she replied with an awed smile,

"Thank you, Daniel."

"You're more than welcome."

She paraphrased the words she had told him prior to Adria's surgery,

"With you rooting for me, I can shift planets."

Suddenly, he closed his eyes before putting his hand to his head as a dull ache attacked him. She glanced up and asked with a concerned expression as she got up to help him,

"Daniel? Are you ok?"

Before he could reply, he collapsed in a heap, and lay unconscious. She rushed to his side and checked his pulse, before radioing Landry,

"Sir, Daniel's collapsed."

The reply came, "So has Miss Mal Doran. Hang on a second, I'm bringing Teal'c."

She cradled Daniel's head in her lap, hoping that he would be alright. A few seconds later, his eyes fluttered open as Landry and Teal'c arrived onto the bridge. He gazed up at her in confusion and asked,

"Sam?"

Relieved, she caressed his jaw and said, "Daniel, are you feeling alright?"

"Um, I think so… what happened?"

"You collapsed."

She helped him up and pulled him into a hug, whispering,

"Don't let me lose you again."

Looking very confused, he tentatively said, "Um, ok…"

She pulled away from him, and momentarily ignoring her CO and Teal'c, kissed him. Surprised, he pushed her away, remarking,

"Sam, not that I'm not _flattered_, but what the hell are you doing?"

She stared at him in confusion and said as tears threatened to fall,

"I-I kissed you… I always kiss you. What's wrong?"

"No you don't. What's going on?"

He looked at Landry and Teal'c and remarked,

"What the hell is going on?"

Looking completely heartbroken and lost, she put a hand on his shoulder but he pushed her away.

He muttered as he left the bridge, "Jack will kill me," and a stray tear ran down her cheek as she watched him leave. Teal'c pulled her into a hug as Landry said with a sigh,

"If only we hadn't beamed the medical officer down to the planet surface."

-----------------

Vala stared at Cam in disbelief after he kissed her. She remarked, angry and shocked,

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Kissing you. I thought you were a goner."

He pulled her to him, but she pushed him away retorting,

"This is rather sudden… we… we work together."

He remarked with an intense glare, "Yeah… we kinda went past that when you were at my apartment the other night… Quit foolin' around."

"I'm not the one 'foolin'' here. You're insane. We've never partaken in the joys of sex - _that_ I would remember."

"Y'know, it's funny - you said something similar when we first met."

Daniel strolled by, and Vala grabbed him by the shoulders, stopping him, and said, very upset,

"Ok Daniel, _please_ tell Colonel Mitchell here that we're not a couple. He keeps insisting that we're together."

"What? You and me?"

She shook her head and replied, "No, _him_ and me. I think he's finally cracked."

Cam threw his hands down in despair and exclaimed,

"This is more screwed than the Goa'uld family tree! Vala, you and I _are_ a couple!"

Daniel stepped in between him and Vala and remarked testily,

"Mitchell, quit playing around and leave her alone."

"For the last time, I'm not playing! _Do_ you have no memory of us being together?! Next, you'll tell me that you and Sam are not a couple…"

"We're not… what the hell's going on?!"

Cam remarked with a very intense glare directed at both of them,

"Oh, I'm being punked, aren't I?! I don't know how you got the President to give Ashton security clearance, but I'm sure you wouldn't want him filming round the Odyssey. Last time you had a camera crew going round an Earth ship, it got lost in deep space… funnily enough, the Asgard showed up then."

Daniel and Vala stared at him with incredulous expressions, and Sam, Teal'c and Landry came running towards them. Sam asked Cam,

"Is Vala acting funny too?"

Cam nodded, his heart aching, and Daniel exclaimed,

"What the hell is going on?! Why are you both insisting that us two are with you two!? I can't possibly be with _you_, because one: everyone knows that you're with Jack; two: I don't remember _any_ of this!"

Sam remarked, fighting back the tears, "Are you telling me that you remember nothing of the past six months!? You moved into my house shortly after Cam's musical."

Confused, Daniel exclaimed, "No! I remember Mitchell's musical production - he coerced me into singing some John Denver songs and then you gave me a lift back to the mountain! We _certainly_ didn't get frisky or whatever the hell you're thinking!"

He turned to Vala and said, "Come on, let's get out of here - these two have a screw loose."

Cam and Sam stared after them helplessly as they walked down the corridor, and Landry said to Sam,

"Colonel Carter, you need to get to the bottom of this."

Upset, Sam nodded before glancing at a very hurt Cam. Teal'c suggested,

"Perhaps this is a dormant effect of the Kormak bracelets."


	78. Unending: Virus!

**Author's Notes:** _Sam needs to get to the bottom of the situation. She investigates and discovers something very shocking. She has to make the heartbreaking decision of channelling her energies in helping Daniel and Vala, or in saving everyone. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

Sam, a small bag under her arm, knocked on the door of Daniel's quarters, calling,

"Daniel! Come on, open up!"

The muffled reply came, "No, go away. I don't want to hear any more of your lies."

She closed her eyes as her already broken heart felt as though it was breaking down into its constituent cells. She sighed and called,

"Look, I have to perform a blood test. If you don't open up, I'm going to blast the door open."

She heard him sigh before the door opened and he stood there, his arms folded across his chest, looking at her sceptically. She remarked,

"Can I come in, or do you want me to take your blood in the corridor? It won't make any difference to me seeing as you've broken my heart."

He sighed once more before standing aside and letting her in. She took in the crumpled sheets and her sharp eyes picked out a long black hair on the pillow. She swallowed her panic and took a deep breath before turning back to him, fighting to control her emotions. There must be something wrong with him, with them both, she thought.

He silently offered her his arm, and she drew his blood. When she had finished, she met his gaze and said,

"Just tell me one thing, Daniel. Are you mad at me for something I've done? I told you that you could tell me anything that was on your mind."

He stared at her in confusion and replied, "Sam, I really think you're making a mistake. We aren't a couple. I don't remember you telling me that… I don't remember anything about _us_."

She asked, her chest hurting, "You slept with her, didn't you? I can smell her on you."

"If it's anything to do with you, yes, I did. You and Jack were flirting for years - how could _we_ be a couple?"

And with that, he folded his arms across his chest, staring at her. A stray tear ran down her cheek and she quickly left, feeling very sick.

--------------------

After drawing samples of Vala's, Landry's, Teal'c's, Cam's and her own blood, Sam performed a series of analyses on the samples. She consulted the Asgard database and she came to a very shocking conclusion. She ran out of the Infirmary to Landry's office, where the General was playing chess with Cam, and said quickly,

"Sir, Cam, it's a virus… Daniel and Vala have a mutated version of the Asgard's disease. It's not contagious to us though."

Cam blinked in surprise, and Landry remarked,

"It never rains but it pours with SG-1. What can you do?"

She blinked back tears as she replied, "Nothing Sir. The Asgard couldn't cure _their_ version… I could try analysing the virus but with everything we have onboard, there's a very low probability of finding a cure. Plus, I have to work on finding a way to phase shift the ship _before_ deactivating the time dilation field. I don't think I can do it Sir."

She turned away and walked out with a heavy heart. Cam followed her out and when he found her sobbing in the corridor, pulled her into his arms and whispered,

"Sam, you can do this."

"I have to choose. I have to choose between finding a cure for those two, and saving the rest of us. I can't do it. I'm the only scientist onboard now and it's just too much! Daniel's slept with Vala."

She sobbed into his shoulder as the situation got to her. He replied,

"I know… but I'm trying to not let it get to me. I love her, Sam, I really do, but she's not herself, and _he's_ not himself. It still hurts though."


	79. Unending: Christmas Party

**Author's Notes:** _Sam's thoughts during the Christmas party - written from her point of view. Inspired by Jess' rant about this particular scene (thanks!). Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

I still can't believe it. Daniel and Vala have both lost their memories, particularly their memories of their time with me and Cam, respectively. They both have a mutated strain of the Asgard virus. I don't know how or why they have this, nor do I have resolution for this.

He is so happy. I've never seen him smile _that_ much, not even when he actually remembered me. It begs the question - has he always had feelings for Vala? Was he just settling for me after Vala paired off with Cam during the musical? I love Daniel, I love him so much that it hurts but he doesn't remember. It hurts so much. I know Cam's hurt too about Vala but he tries to be upbeat, despite trashing his quarters when the cabin fever got to him. I like his natural optimism though - he's always trying to keep things positive - even when I lay dying after being shot by an Ori soldier, he kept me company and told me that I wasn't going to die. I'm surprised he hasn't hit Daniel yet for this _weirdness_… perhaps he did it out of loyalty of the friendship formed while I was in Nevada, or perhaps he understands more than I do that it's the disease and not them.

Each time I look at Daniel, I remember the great times we had, the times we made wild and passionate love all around my - our - house, and even in the backyard under the full moon during perigee. I have nearly lost him so many times already but this really kicks the bucket.

He is convinced that I have feelings for General O'Neill - boy, when - if - he gets his memories back, I'm going to give him hell for throwing Jack O'Neill in my face again. He did it a couple of months ago when he thought that I was seeing the guy, but we made up and he was genuinely sorry about the accusation.

He's got Vala in his lap and I'm sorely tempted to throw my drink in his face. A part of me can't help thinking how much of a total idiot he is. With memories of me out of the way, he and Vala are humping each other's brains out. Well, however long we're stuck here, _I_ will not stoop that low. I love him and always will. Daniel Jackson is not the type of guy that a girl can get over easily, if at all. It's rather ironic when you take into account that at one point he thought _I_ was the one doing the philandering.

Does it even count as philandery?

I wish I could find a cure for the virus, but I can't. The ship's Infirmary is sorely under equipped for this sort of thing and I'm not a medical doctor. It's times like this when I miss Janet. She would have found a cure by now. Heck, even if she was affected by it, she'd suggest something critical to the construction of an antidote.

It's my fault, isn't it? He's mad at me because I've got us stuck here. They're all mad at me, I know. I can't do this any more. I just want to sleep. I love him so much yet he spurned my affections, broke my heart, and is now touching _her_.

Poor Cam. If we hadn't been stuck here _this_ long, they wouldn't have contracted the virus, however they did it. I'm still not sure of the hows or whys, but I think it could be because of those Kormak bracelets, or perhaps the virus is lingering on the ship? Dear God, the implications of such hypotheses are endless - I've already got a lot on my plate without having to deal with _that_.

This was supposed to be our first Christmas together as a couple. Merry Christmas. Yeah right.


	80. Unending: Bitterness

**Author's Notes:** _Twenty years down the line, Sam visits Daniel as he translates parts of the Asgard knowledge. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

After telling him that she had given up, she continued,

"I've given up because I've lost you, Daniel. You don't remember because of this disease that I _still_ haven't found a cure for, but I love you."

He spun around and exclaimed,

"It's too late Sam! I love Vala now. There was a time when I loved you but you were _always_ unavailable, with Narim, Martouf, Jack, Pete… Jack again... Maybe Mitchell now…"

"Don't you dare - don't you _dare_ talk to me like that, Daniel Jackson! How dare you even suggest that I'm some kind of trollop!? _You_ may not remember, but I'm in love with you. The reason I haven't moved on as swiftly as you appear to have done is because I can't get over my feelings for you. Quite frankly, I'm not going to move on. I have to save us all while you go and hump her brains out."

He turned back to the database, disgusted, before saying in a dangerously calm voice,

"Sam, I think you better leave."

"Daniel…"

"Go away. You're just jealous of Vala."

Tears streamed down her careworn face as she gazed at him, remembering their time together, before leaving. Cam soon appeared in the doorway and called before going after Sam,

"Jackson, you stupid, blind, two-timing son-of-a-bitch."

Without so much as turning, Daniel retorted, "Piss off Mitchell."


	81. Unending: Parting

**Author's Notes:** _Before they implement the plan that will undo all that has happened, Sam asks Teal'c to do something for her, and Cam finally tells Daniel exactly what he thinks of him. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

"Ok Teal'c, seeing as you'll be the only one who remembers everything that has happened, I want you to do me a huge favour."

Teal'c replied, "Anything, ColonelCarter."

She glanced from Daniel to Vala to Cam, before saying,

"If this works out, I want you to get Doctor Lam to perform blood tests on Daniel and Vala. I don't know how or when the infection happens but at least we'll catch it earlier and it with far better medical equipment."

"I will."

Cam remarked, "Well, Jackson, seeing as things will be back to normal and you probably won't have your disease, let me tell you a few things. You are one conceited, stupid, blind, idiotic, foolish, oblivious son-of-a-bitch, and to finish…"

Despite his old age, he punched Daniel hard in the jaw and continued, "You ever steal my girlfriend again, or hurt my best friend, and I will hunt you down like the dog you are and personally break your legs."

Daniel stared at him in shock, clutching his jaw as Vala fussed over him. Sam just managed to stop herself from rushing to the Archaeologist's aid, and she remarked to Cam with a frown,

"Cam, there wasn't any need for that."

"There damn well was - he hurt you. I know you have your bouts of self-doubt, but he made you weak Sam. I don't care if it was the disease - it didn't give him the right to sleep with my girlfriend or hurt you like that."

Vala stared at him incredulously and Daniel remarked,

"You were telling the truth!?"

Sam angrily retorted, "It took you fifty years to ask that!? I am so tempted to tell Teal'c to break us up when we undo all this."

Teal'c replied with a fierce glare directed at Daniel, "I will indeed, if you wish ColonelCarter."

"No Teal'c… thank you though."


	82. Unending: Welcome Back

**Author's Notes:** _Returning unharmed from the Odyssey, Jack welcomes the team and Landry home. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

As they arrived on base, Jack was waiting for them, remarking with a raised eyebrow,

"So, how was school?"

Sam glanced at Teal'c with a puzzled smile and replied,

"Um, rather intriguing, Sir… I'm still not _exactly_ sure as to what happened up there."

Jack remarked on noticing Teal'c's hair, "Wow… gotta tell ya… you're starting to show your age… What happened?"

Daniel replied as he patted Teal'c on the shoulder,

"It's going to be one interesting briefing Jack, but bottom line is that we were up there for fifty years in a time dilation field and Teal'c saved the day."

"Well, all I can say is I want the number of your surgeon… you don't look a day older than when you left, although T-man here is getting a little snow up there. Don't worry though - you're not alone. We can form our little gang in the Commissary with Walter and… Hank, will you be joining us?! I'd ask Hammond but he's got a marble crown up there as opposed to snow."

Landry retorted with a smile, "Sure… anything's got to be better than contemplating what really went on in that field."

Teal'c immediately tensed up at that last remark, and said, "DanielJackson and ValaMalDoran must have blood tests performed on them with immediate effect."

Everyone turned to look at him in bewilderment, and Daniel remarked,

"Not that we're going to have them anyway, but what's the hurry?"

"I cannot reveal that information."


	83. Unending: Nurses

**Author's Notes:** _Before the mission through the 'gate, Sam and Daniel have a little alone time. PG-13 'cos of a Nurses' betting pool. Missing scene from Unending._

--------------------

Daniel entered Sam's office, and held her around the waist, his chin resting on her shoulder, as she sorted some paperwork. He asked her, frowning,

"Sam? Do you have any idea who would have written the words _'two-timing little shit_' in foot high letters on my office wall?"

She paused and exclaimed, "What?! Who would do that?"

Still holding her, he replied, "I don't know - I was asking you. It appears I've pissed someone off, unless someone got the wrong office. I asked Security but they said that my camera stopped working for a minute, as did the cameras in the corridors. Maintenance are currently painting over the graffiti now."

She chuckled and remarked, "I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that it was one of Doctor Lam's nurses… I never told you this, but there has been a long standing betting pool on how you make love, as well as the boxers Vs briefs thing."

He spluttered, blushing profusely, and exclaimed, "What?!"

She nodded, and continued, "If I was the kiss and tell type, I would've made a killing. Apparently Vala's won a small fortune with their pool on Cam."

He remarked, "That's terrible… how could she bet money on Mitchell like that?!"

She shrugged and replied, "As much as I've grown to like her, she's got a serious amoral streak going on there."

He nuzzled her neck and whispered, "Well, I'm glad that _you're_ not the kiss and tell type… Maybe we can go damp proofing after this mission."

She chuckled, playfully hitting him before remarking,

"Sure… but if we get chased by evil locals, you owe me a date."

He retorted as he gently caressed the skin beneath her t-shirt,

"I owe you several dates, Colonel-Doctor."


	84. Unending: Gateroom

**Author's Notes:** _After the mission, Sam thinks that everyone's avoiding her, and __**then**__ Walter calls. Tag to Unending._

--------------------

As Sam laced up her boots, following her shower, she noticed that the locker-room was _very_ empty, which was odd as she could have sworn that the women of SG-3 and 5 had been showering and changing there too. She sighed before popping her head into Daniel's office, only to find that he wasn't there. She checked her own office, lab, and then the Commissary, and to her surprise, found them empty.

Maybe everyone's gone home, she thought, as she walked back to her lab with a resigned expression. She thought that Daniel could have at least _told_ her that he was going home. She sighed before revising her report on Merlin's device.

Suddenly, Walter called over the PA system,

"Colonel Carter report to the 'gate room. Colonel Carter report to the 'gate room."

She sighed before getting up, wondering what else could be wrong with the 'gate. She then realised that she had been called to the 'gate room as opposed to the control room, and she frowned, trying to work out what was going on as she navigated the corridors.

She stopped in her tracks when she reached the 'gate room. It looked to her that everyone on base was present, including every SG team, and… Cassie! She stared at everyone, willing herself to wake up from what appeared to be one bizarre dream. Everyone faced her with muted expressions, and she frowned slightly, looking around the room. She then noticed Daniel as he stepped out from in between Cam and Jack.

She smiled and asked with a bemused expression, "Daniel, what's going on?"

He moved closer to her until he was close enough to clasp both of her hands in his, and said as he gazed with a slight smile,

"Sam… I know we've only been seeing each other for six months, but we've _known_ each for nearly ten years. I love you more and deeper than I have loved anyone in my entire life. You are absolutely amazing, beautiful, brilliant, and smart and a great friend, and I was wondering…"

As she watched, still confused, he went down on one knee, producing an open box containing a gold band set with a stunning emerald, and continued,

"… Colonel-Doctor Samantha Carter, will you marry me?"

Cheers erupted around the audience but were quickly subdued as they anticipated Sam's answer. She gazed down at him, into those cerulean orbs of his, and realised something. She whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears,

"Yes!"

No-one was sure as to her answer as no-one but Daniel had heard it, and he remained on his knee in a moment of stunned silence. Mentally shaking himself, he slipped the ring onto her finger, and the entire audience erupted in loud cheers. Daniel pulled her into a tight hug as she smiled against his shoulder, and he whispered,

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Sam. I promise that I will spend my entire life making you happy."

In the crowd, next to a very proud looking Jack, Cam whispered to Vala,

"How about we make it a double wedding for them?"

She replied with a coy smile, "Ask me that question in two months time, and I will give you my answer."

He put his arm around her and kissed her tenderly, just as everyone cheered raucously at Sam and Daniel kissing, while Cassie wiped away tears of joy as she held Hammond's arm.


	85. Unending: Rockies

**Author's Notes:** _SG-1, past and present, all finally go camping, and Cam and Jack coerce Daniel into singing. Lyrics featured are 'Poems, Prayers and Promises' by John Denver. Tag to Unending._

--------------------

With the Colorado Rocky Mountains as their backdrop, SG-1 and Jack sat around a campfire. Sam and Daniel were sat close together, as were Cam and Vala. Jack remarked with a satisfied smirk at his former team-mates,

"Looks like we're the dateless wonders, T."

"Indeed."

Daniel said, "I don't know why you didn't bring Ish'ta along."

Teal'c replied, "Being the leader of the female free Jaffa is no easy task, DanielJackson."

Jack clapped his hands as he gazed around at his (mostly) happy friends. He remarked,

"Hey, if T and Ish'ta get their act together, it's going to be a quadruple wedding!"

Sam frowned slightly and asked, "Don't you mean triple, Sir?"

Daniel realised something and he exclaimed,

"You and Sara are getting back together?!"

Jack nodded and replied, "Yeah, we were waiting for you and Carter to get hitched, but seeing as it's going to be group affair…"

Cam reached for Vala's hand, squeezing it as they gazed at each other with smiles. The light from the fire caught the sparkling sapphire of her ring, and Vala asked,

"Who are the men going to have as best men if we're all getting hitched together?"

Sam shrugged and replied as she gazed at the fire, "I don't know - I'm definitely having General Hammond give me away though… and Cassie as bridesmaid. It's a shame Dad and Janet can't be here."

Daniel squeezed her hand reassuringly, before Cam clapped his hands and remarked with a grin,

"We can work out the logistics tomorrow… tonight…"

He brandished a guitar from behind him, looking meaningfully at Daniel, who raised his hands in protest, remarking,

"No way!"

Jack, quick on the uptake, said with a cheeky expression, "Oh come on Daniel! It'll be fun! You know how I envy your singing voice, and besides… you don't want to disappoint your fiancée!"

Sam smiled, the term still sounding bizarre used in conjunction with herself. She gazed at Daniel who smiled at her before remarking to Cam,

"Oh go on then… but all of you have to sing a song each afterwards. Any requests?!"

Cam handed him the guitar and asked, "Remember that song I got you to rehearse but you never actually sang?"

Daniel frowned slightly and was about to object when Jack remarked,

"Come on, let's hear it! Or I tell Carter about when I first realised that you had feelings for her."

Sam retorted with a grin, "He already told me about the alcohol, Sir."

"Smart ass... head… I mean head…"

Daniel gazed at Sam as he strummed the opening chords, and he began, replacing the words 'my old lady' with 'my fiancée', much to Sam's delight,

"_I've been lately thinking  
About my life's time  
All the things I've done  
And how it's been  
And I can't help believing  
In my own mind  
I know I'm gonna hate to see it end_

_I've seen a lot of sunshine  
Slept out in the rain  
Spent a night or two all on my own  
I've known my lady's pleasures  
Had myself some friends  
And spent a night or two in my own home_

_And I have to say it now  
It's been a good life all in all  
It's really fine  
To have a chance to hang around  
And lie there by the fire  
And watch the evening tire  
While all my friends and my fiancée  
Sit and pass the pipe around_

_And talk of poems and prayers and promises  
And things that we believe in  
How sweet it is to love someone  
How right it is to care  
How long it's been since yesterday  
And what about tomorrow  
And what about our dreams  
And all the memories we share_

_The days they pass so quickly now  
Nights are seldom long  
And time around me whispers when it's cold  
The changes somehow frighten me  
Still I have to smile  
It turns me on to think of growing old  
For though my life's been good to me  
There's still so much to do  
So many things my mind has never known  
I'd like to raise a family  
I'd like to sail away  
And dance across the mountains on the moon_

_I have to say it now  
It's been a good life all in all  
It's really fine  
To have the chance to hang around  
And lie there by the fire  
And watch the evening tire  
While all my friends and my fiancée  
Sit and watch the sun go down_

_And talk of poems and prayers and promises  
And things that we believe in  
How sweet it is to love someone  
How right it is to care  
How long it's been since yesterday  
What about tomorrow  
What about our dreams  
And all the memories we share…"_

--------------------

_Yay, finished!!! Whoop-di-doo! Sequel to come, eventually, in What We Should Be Doing, with Ark of Truth spoilers… which is going to be missing scenes for Ark of Truth. I might do one for Continuum, and maybe even Atlantis season four… It's going to be a bit vague seeing as I haven't seen either, but hey… vague is good… lol. _

_Thanks for reading, reviewing, favouriting, alerting… thank you. : )_


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